Woman proposes to her girlfriend minutes after Ireland says 'Yes' in same-sex marriage vote

Billie proposed to long-term girlfriend Kate Stoica

Billie proposes to long-term girlfriend Kate Stoica moments after Ireland votes Yes for same-sex marriage

One Irish woman has wasted no time at all after Ireland voted to legalise same-sex marriage.

Within minutes of the results being read out at a count centre in Limerick, Billie got down on one knee to ask her partner Kate Stoica , to marry her.

Ms Stoica told the Irish Examiner: “I’m very overwhelmed right now and slightly mortified.”

The first same-sex marriages in Ireland could take place as early as autumn, after Ireland’s historic vote yesterday. It is the first country to approve the change in a national poll.

There were scenes of jubilation outside of Dublin Castle, with celebrities including Stephen Fry taking to Twitter to express their delight.

Homosexuality has only been legal in Ireland since 1993. But, despite the Catholic church's urges to the 84 per cent of Irish people who identify as Catholic to vote No, voters were happy to break with the country's social conservative and turned out in huge numbers in the name of equality.

In total, 62.1 per cent of voters backed Yes to legalising same-sex marriage, with only one constituency, Roscommon-South Leitrim, voting No by 51.4 per cent.