REGIONAL COUNTS: Missing votes, missing politicians and a noticeably absent Connacht-Ulster MEP, Ms Dana Rosemary Scallon - this was the atmosphere in Galway West's count centre yesterday, as it became the last constituency to declare a referendum result.
It took a count, two rechecks and much talking on a cream-coloured telephone before the returning officer, Mr Seán Ó Dómhnaill, confirmed that the No vote had been carried, by a margin of just 105.
There was no official explanation, but much conjecture, about the fate of 674 votes which had not been accounted for. By 5.41 p.m., when Mr Ó Dómhnaill got up to speak, everyone seemed to be anxious to clear the hall.
Among the few stalwarts present during the long afternoon were members of the Galway for Life campaign, who had worked tirelessly in favour of the amendment, Labour Party representatives and Alliance for a No vote Galway branch members. "Just wait till the next election - we'll get her then," one Yes vote supporter was heard to utter, referring to the MEP, Ms Scallon.
If the former presidential election candidate still harbours ambitions to stand for the Dáil, she has lost some loyal supporters in Galway West. "She went to Dublin because she was afraid to face us," a member of the Galway for Life group said.
Ms Eilis Grealy, spokeswoman for Galway for Life, was more measured in her comments, but clearly disappointed. "It is a sad, sad day," she told The Irish Times. "There was a lot of misinformation out there, and I wouldn't blame the Government or the Referendum Commission for that. The Commission did a very good job, but it seems that there was nearly a campaign to make the voter confused."
The decision by Dana not to support the amendment was "very significant", Ms Grealy said.
A former key supporter of Galway for Life and the Pro-Life Campaign, Ms Mary Thornton, had also urged a No vote as part of the newly formed Ireland for Life grouping.
"I just hope they have a plan B," Ms Grealy said. "I do believe that the majority of people don't want to see abortion here, but we have to respect the result of the referendum."
Ms Grealy said that her organisation's tallies showed that "misinformation" had made its mark. She said she would "question the motivation" of some campaigners who had managed "to generate so much confusion". The Galway for Life group would have to assess the situation, she said, "but we will continue in our struggle for the protection of the unborn".
Ms Sabina Higgins, wife of former arts minister and Galway West Labour TD, Mr Michael D. Higgins, said she "utterly rejected" suggestions that Dana's intervention had made a difference to the result.
"This is a substantial pro-woman vote, "she said, expressing delight at the outcome, albeit slim. What was particularly noticeable during the campaign, she said, was "a sea change in attitude among men, especially older men, who wanted a No vote and who still saw this as a woman's issue".
Whatever about men, there were no ministers present, not even a councillor, when the final result was declared. Mammon had taken precedence, one observer quipped; all TDs were in Dublin for the vote on the Finance Act.
Chris Dooley, in Thomastown, Co Kilkenny, adds: By the time the returning officer for Carlow-Kilkenny was ready to announce the referendum result in that constituency yesterday, apathy had reached fever pitch.
Three reporters, a photographer from The Irish Times and two gardaí held their breath as Ms Mary Enright declared the Yes side had come out on top by a margin of almost 5,000 votes - 22,623 to 17,887. Not a single other observer, apart from the vote counters, was present to hear the outcome of a poll which for much of the morning had promised to be a cliffhanger.
Even Sister Mary Walsh from Bagenalstown, Co Carlow, the sole representative of the Pro-Life Campaign at the count centre in Thomastown, had gone home by the time the result was declared at 1.30 p.m.
For several hours, she had looked a lonely figure as she stood by the barriers observing the count and noting the results like an experienced tallyman. "From what I'm seeing it's shading a Yes," she said. "A good shade, I suppose." The news from other parts of the country was not so good from her perspective, partly, she believed, because people were confused about the issues.
• One Wexford voter went to the bother of stapling a photocopy of a Ryanair ticket to a voting paper to get a message across. The message read: "Get Real! - UK, €10!" The voter left the voting paper blank.
