It was a sweet sign off to a long and exhausting campaign.
After the long and exhausting campaign to repeal the Eighth Amendment, the triumphant scenes of celebration at Dublin Castle on Saturday were undoubtedly a welcome sight among ‘Yes’ voters.
While the seriousness of the issue was certainly not lost on any citizen who took part in the vote, the enormous relief brought out a few scenes of strange joy as the crowd was told by Taoiseach Leo Varadkar that “Ireland will still be the same country today as it was before, just a little more tolerant, open and respectful.”
There was the spectacle of an excited dog owner who decided to hold their pup, Noah, up over the crowd, and then there was the peculiarly apt set of sweets one Saundra Stephen decided to share in light of the news.
To celebrate Ireland’s decision to repeal the Eighth Amendment, Stephen presented members of the crowd with After Eight chocolates.
She’s deadly @hiheal pic.twitter.com/2nOqTIE37O
— ❤️Phoebe (@IamPhoebe) May 26, 2018
Suffice to say, she captured the mood in Dublin Castle quite aptly. For the pro-Repeal voters, the victory was a little sweet.
The internet blew up with excitement, but it wasn’t until RTÉ’s Philip Boucher-Hayes tweeted out the unlikely gift that somebody else took notice.
In Dublin Castle a woman has just handed me an After Eight.
Genius#irelandreferendum #Repealed
— Philip Boucher-Hayes (@boucherhayes) May 26, 2018
The good people over at After Eight caught wind that their wafer-thin chocolates were being passed around, and they had a nice, little response to ring in the next phase in Irish history, writing on Twitter:
“We best get some more supplies to Ireland…”
We best get some more supplies to Ireland… https://t.co/FUiTDCqORA
— After Eight (@AfterEightUKI) May 27, 2018
It’s the chocolate that works best after a dinner, and now, a national referendum.
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