Ireland goes to the polls on same-sex marriage

Voters in the Republic of Ireland are taking part in a referendum on legalising same-sex marriage on Friday. More than 3.2m people are being asked whether they want to amend the country's constitution to allow gay and lesbian couples to marry.

Polling stations opened at 07:00 with voting continuing until 22:00 and counting due to start on Saturday morning.

Same-sex marriage is currently legal in 19 countries worldwide.

Votes have already been cast in some islands as well as hospitals, hospices and nursing homes and only Irish citizens who are registered and living in the state can take part.

Voters will be asked: "Marriage may be contracted in accordance with law by two persons without distinction as to their sex".

The referendum is being held 22 years after Ireland decriminalised homosexuality. In 2010, the government enacted civil partnership legislation, which provided legal recognition for gay couples, but there are some important differences between civil partnership and marriage, the critical one being that marriage is protected in the constitution while civil partnership is not.