1998 Irish constitutional referendums

Two referendums were held together in the Republic of Ireland on 22 May 1998, each on a proposed amendment of the Irish constitution. Both measures were approved. A referendum in Northern Ireland was also held on the same day.

Eighteenth amendment
Main article: Eighteenth Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland

The Eighteenth Amendment introduced two new articles into the constitution which allowed the government to ratify the Amsterdam Treaty.

Eighteenth Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland referendum[1]
Choice Votes %
Yes 932,632 61.74
No 578,070 38.26
Valid votes 1,510,702 97.85
Invalid or blank votes 33,228 2.15
Total votes 1,543,930 100.00
Registered voters and turnout 2,747,088 56.20

Nineteenth amendment
Main article: Nineteenth Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland

The Nineteenth Amendment to the constitution allowed the government to ratify the Good Friday Agreement done at Belfast on 10 April 1998, which included changing articles 2 and 3 of the Irish constitution which effectively claimed Irish sovereignty over Northern Ireland. The agreement was also endorsed in the simultaneous referendum in Northern Ireland. Articles 2 and 3 were subsequently changed in December 1999, and the territorial claim was replaced with an aspiration for a united Ireland to be achieved "by peaceful means with the consent of a majority of the people, democratically expressed, in both jurisdictions in the island".

Nineteenth Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland referendum[1]
Choice Votes %
Yes 1,442,583 94.39
No 85,748 5.61
Valid votes 1,528,331 98.90
Invalid or blank votes 17,064 1.10
Total votes 1,545,395 100.00
Registered voters and turnout 2,747,088 56.26

See also

References
  1. "Referendum Results" (PDF). Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 December 2014. Retrieved 14 August 2014.
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