Shrine village of Knock rejects repeal

A MAJORITY of voters in Knock opposed the repeal of the 8th Amendment.

According to tally figures, 439 residents in the Marian Shrine village rejected the proposal - almost 100 more than the number (344) in favour.

Knock was the ‘goal’ of Pope John Paul’s visit to Ireland in 1979 and shrine authorities are hopeful of a similar visit by Pope Francis when he comes here in August.

Apart from Knock, other areas in the Mayo constituency where the ‘No’ vote prevailed included Inishturk island where the voting was 22-9 against the amendment.

However, Clare Island, a neighbouring island to Inishturk, recorded a mostly ‘Yes’ vote, as did Innisbiggle Island where eight residents in total cast their ballot – five in favour of the amendment, three against.

Strong ‘No’ votes were recorded in parts of Achill Island, Ballyvary, and parts of Erris, including Bangor Erris and Glenamoy.

Ahead of an official count announcement this afternoon by Fintan Murphy, Returning Officer for Mayo, tally teams put the vote in favour of repeal of the 8th Amendment in Mayo at 57 per cent, with 43 per cent against.

The total electorate in Mayo was in the region of 56,700.

The total turnout in the constituency was 62 per cent, up two per cent on the Equality Referendum in 2016.