WATCH ABOVE: Ireland became the first nation Friday to hold a referendum on same-sex marriage despite the country being predominantly Roman Catholic. Stuart Greer reports.
Hundreds of Irish emigrants flew home Friday in order to take part in the country’s historic vote on same-sex marriage, sparking the #Hometovote hashtag to trend on Twitter.
Ireland could become the first country to legalize same-sex marriage by way of referendum during Friday’s vote, as every other which has legalized equal marriage did it through their legislature.
The small country of 4.6 million has suffered from large amounts of emigration for years, and 81,900 people left the country in 2014.
But a lot of them went home Friday, posting photos of their planes and selfies on Twitter to show the world they’re voting.
An interactive map of tweets sent with the hashtag show most of the tweets in the United Kingdom and Ireland but with some as far as South America, Vancouver, Toronto, Los Angeles and Australia.
Eight opinion polls taken since March when the referendum was announced suggest the ‘yes’ campaign should win and the prime minister, and all political parties have lent their support to the campaign.
READ MORE: Murals promoting same-sex marriage in Ireland get worldwide attention
One Twitter user posted a photo of a long queue at the Dublin airport full of people, he said, coming back to Ireland to vote in the referendum.
Even Hozier, the singer of “Take Me to Church,” posted a selfie before heading back to Ireland to vote, writing “Éire! Have some hrs free, flying in to vote tomorrow.”
Hozier, who was born in Newcastle, County Wicklow, is holding a sign in the photo that reads: “Yes Equality. I’m ready to vote.”
READ MORE: Colin Farrell makes impassioned plea for marriage equality in Ireland
Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny urged people to vote yes before the vote, saying Ireland could “create history” by becoming the first nation to cast a popular vote in favour of gay marriage.
“The ‘yes’ will obliterate, publicly, the remaining barriers of prejudice or the irrational fear of the ‘them’ and ‘us’ in this regard,” said Kenny.
Results of the referendum are expected Saturday.
– With files from The Associated Press
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