A NORTH-EAST academic is celebrating after a huge victory for equality saw same-sex marriage legalised in Ireland this weekend.

Irish neuroscientist and lecturer Amanda Ellison shared a bottle of champagne with her wife Rachel as they watched Ireland make history.

On Saturday (May 23), an overwhelming majority – 62 per cent - swept aside the opposition of the Roman Catholic Church to usher in same-sex marriage and an era of social change.

Rainbow flags were flying in the name of equality as Ireland became the first nation to approve gay marriage with a popular vote.

The build up to the landmark referendum saw Irish ex-pats from across the globe go home to vote, ensuring a solid victory for gay rights campaigners.

Now based in Middlesbrough, Ms Ellison no longer has the right to vote in Ireland but said her views had been well represented by family members back home who had later taken to the streets of Dublin in celebration.

She said vote overwhelmingly showed the willingness of the Irish people to progress from a conservative, religious tradition that criminalised homosexuality until 1993 – but warned more work was still to be done around family issues.

Ms Ellison said: “A referendum might seem like a strange way to sort out a civil rights issue but that’s how it works in Ireland.

“Leaving it to the will of the people meant it could have gone either way and it got incredibly nasty with the No side bringing up children and surrogacy issues – not what the vote was about.

“Ireland has a sad history of being constrained by religion and that still influences people, especially in more rural areas.

“A no vote would have been awful but we’re on the right side of history now and can see that people monumentally voted for happiness that everyone can have and nobody can take away.

“This was in the hands of the people, they have moved Ireland forward and now it stands as an example to the rest of the world.”

More than 60 per cent of 3.2m potential voters turned out for the referendum and ensured the ballot passed by 1,201,607 votes to 734,300.

Only one district from 43 voted no to same-sex marriage.