Brexit Northern Ireland: ‘This is a very concerning day’

High turnout in Fermanagh amid worries over Border controls and human rights

Eileen Drumm: “Remaining in the EU is important for the rights of disabled people”
Eileen Drumm: “Remaining in the EU is important for the rights of disabled people”

Large numbers of voters went to polling stations around Co Fermanagh yesterday: "This is the most important decision that this country can make," said Anita Flanagan in the Border village of Garrison.

“If I was to throw a ball outside my back door I would probably hit the South, that’s how close I am to the Border. This is a very concerning day. My partner works in the South and travels from Fermanagh each day,” she said.

"For a lot of us down here, it is easier to get to Ballyshannon in Donegal than Enniskillen in Fermanagh. The local economy benefits a lot from the Border area. This is the most important decision that this country can make and the biggest one in my lifetime."

However, Blane Bailey from Blaney declared that an UK exit from the EU would "have no effect on the Border at all" since "continued good relations" would be maintained.

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Donna Whyte, who runs Lemon Tree Accountancy in Enniskillen, said: "With the Leave campaign gaining momentum and plastering Enniskillen with their Leave posters I would be seriously worried."

"Remaining in the EU is important for the rights of disabled people," said community worker Eileen Drumm: "[Their] rights will be destroyed if we go out, as will our human rights."

‘Dirty campaign’

“It has been a very dirty campaign because the people who want to go out are fighting every way they can. I am crossing my fingers.

"The devil you know is better than the devil you don't know," said hotelier Joe Mahon making his way to the polling station in his home town of Irvinestown.

“If we leave there is going to have to be some sort of control on the Border.”