Nut rage exec has been freed

But enough about that because Ireland will find out tomorrow if they have become the first electorate in the world to vote for same-sex marriage. Polling stations have closed, with returning officers reporting higher turnout than usual for a referendum 'more comparable with a general election'. There are no postal votes in Ireland but some emigrants felt so passionately they caught the boat home to vote. I hope they do legalise love, but whatever the result, the bitter nature of the campaign has revealed the battle going on for the soul of a nation. A former bastion of the Roman Catholic Church, Ireland has undergone dramatic social change in the space of just 40 years. Contraception was illegal there until 1980, couples could not divorce until 1995 (the only two jurisdictions with that same fault now are the Philippines and Vatican City), and homosexuality was only decriminalised 22 years ago. When issues are emotive, it is difficult to predict the result - the winning margin in the divorce referendum was 0.56%. But that was 20 years ago and the church no longer holds sway over hearts and minds in Ireland. So here's hoping gays in Ireland will one day be able to tie the knot.