Archbishop of Dublin calls for Church 'reality check' after same-sex vote win

Diarmuid Martin's comments come after traditionally Catholic Ireland voted overwhelming in favour of gay marriage

Ireland voted overwhelmingly in favour of same-sex marriage (Getty)

Leaders of the Catholic Church in Ireland need to take a "reality check", according to one of the country's most senior Catholic figures.

Catholic bishops had campaigned against the proposed change in the law to allow same-sex couples, but the overwhelming 'Yes' vote and a higher than usual voter turnout of 61% have left the church looking out of touch in a traditionally Catholic country.

Diarmuid Martin, the archbishop of Dublin, told RTE, the Irish national broadcaster: "We have to stop and have a reality check, not move into denial of the realities."

Ireland voted overwhelmingly in favour of same-sex marriage (Getty)

In part the success of the Yes campaign was down to students' unions encouraging members to get their names on the electoral register and an influx of voting emigrants who tagged their return on Twitter as #hometovote.

Archbishop Martin commented: "I ask myself, most of these young people who voted yes are products of our Catholic school system for 12 years. I'm saying there's a big challenge there to see how we get across the message of the Church."

Ahead of polling day on 22 May a series of Catholic bishops issued open letters to their congregations outlining their concerns about gay marriage and why the Church would not support the reform.

Eamon Martin, the Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland, even warned that, if the vote was passed, the Catholic hierarchy might reconsider its position on whether priests would continue to solemnise the civil aspect of a marriage.

Following the vote Church of Ireland bishops called for a spirit of "public generosity both from those for whom the result of the referendum represents triumph, and from those for whom it signifies disaster".

Official result showed that almost 1.95m people went to the polls on Friday. About 734,300 people voted against the proposal.

(Additional reporting by PA)