Many Australians cherish their ancestral links to Ireland and like to think there is a little bit of the Irish in our larrikin culture. Today those cultural similarities are on show again as we join Ireland as the second nation in which its citizens have voted for marriage equality to ensure all its people are treated equally and fairly under the law.

Ireland's Prime Minister, Enda Kenny, said on his nation's historic day in May 2015 that "with today's Yes vote we have disclosed who we are – a generous, bold and joyful people."