Exit polls indicate a sweeping repeal— in nearly every voter segment — of Ireland’s constitutional criminalization of abortion.

It’s something to remember the next time a broadcast pundit talks about a monolithic Catholic vote on abortion. (Or gay marriage. Or a bunch of other stuff.)

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The findings of The Irish Times/Ipsos MRBI exit poll, if borne out when the result of the referendum to repeal the Eighth Amendment to the Constitution is announced, illustrate an overwhelming desire for change that nobody had foreseen.

The victory for the Yes campaign looks set to be neither narrow nor based on a few segments of Irish society. Rather, it will be carried high on the shoulders of a majority across the entire country.

Aside from the thumping majority in favour of repeal, the most striking aspect of the exit poll is the uniform strength of the Yes vote across all regions and ages, except voters aged above 65.

Dang those old folks. They’re trouble in the U.S., too. But the good news is perhaps bad news for people like me, aged 68. If you get my drift.

I loved this roundup earlier today of stories about Irish men and women, particularly women, spending lots of money to fly from places all over the globe to participate in the repeal election.

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Interviews with young Irish women here.

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