In the highest-ever “no” vote in Irish referendum history, Irish voters rejected amendments that would widen the definition of marriage and remove a clause that reinforced women’s role in the home.

Bishop Denis Nulty of Kildare and Leighlin said he hoped that the newly returned relic of St. Brigid would inspire people to show hospitality to asylum-seekers, at a time of growing protests about immigration in the country.

The president of the Irish bishop’s conference hailed an agreement that sees a Catholic take the top political job in Northern Ireland for the first time in its history as an “opportunity for a fresh start and a new beginning.”

Ireland is becoming less religious, and the percentage of residents who identify as Catholic is down to 69% according to census data. More people identify with "no religion" than in previous years.