WE WON’T KNOW until tomorrow whether the Yes or No campaign in the Marriage Referendum has won, but the big winner today was #HomeToVote.

The Twitter hashtag spawned a movement: Irish people returning from abroad (whether on holiday, living away, or otherwise) letting the country know that they were returning to cast their vote.

Want to keep up with the referendum? Here’s our liveblog

As the #HomeToVote tweets started streaming in, it became clear people were willing to travel a long, long way to have their say on same-sex marriage.

From England…

Came #hometovote all the way from London and found my mum had made some subtle changes to my room for me #VoteYes pic.twitter.com/BOdxqXhJoN — kevin (@KevBeirne) May 21, 2015 Source: Kevin Beirne /Twitter

Scotland

Ethiopia

Paris

Slovakia

Barcelona

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Bangkok

New York

Germany

Mozambique

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Their long journeys didn’t go unnoticed. If you spotted a colleague or friend looking a bit misty-eyed while scrolling on their phone, they were probably reading Twitter:

WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?! I've cried about 30 times the day already reading #HomeToVote and #VoteYes tweets and it's only 3 o'clock 😢😭 — Dee Moore (@TheBigGing84) May 22, 2015 Source: Dee Moore /Twitter

#hometovote hashtag ruined my lunch. Really hard to swallow with a lump in my throat. Lovely lovely lovely good vibey stuff. — Eilidh McDonald (@LadyLele) May 22, 2015 Source: Eilidh McDonald /Twitter

I've been so moved by the #hometovote hashtag. It's one of the most powerful and uplifting things I've ever seen on Twitter — Paul O'Brien (@WestCorkPaul) May 22, 2015 Source: Paul O'Brien /Twitter

#HomeToVote ended up trending all over the world, which, as the day went on, became less and less surprising.

Source: Trendsmap

The long journeys taken by some also got people thinking about the nature of referendums and living abroad. Some people couldn’t travel, or had lived away too long to be allowed to vote.

Loving all the #hometovote stories. Postal ballots would be simpler & cheaper if they were allowed but nowhere near so powerful — Penny Allison (@Penny_Allison) May 22, 2015 Source: Penny Allison /Twitter

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I've already said it but this #HomeToVote hashtag is so inspiring I really wish the vote was extended to all of Ireland!! #VoteYesIreland — sandra duffy (@SandraDuffySF) May 22, 2015 Source: sandra duffy /Twitter

Feeling emotional and Homesick I couldn't make it #HomeToVote today. We have a passionate history of standing up for what we believe in — Bríd Kirby (@BridKirby) May 22, 2015 Source: Bríd Kirby /Twitter

The fact that people were travelling in their droves to Ireland to vote in a referendum on same-sex marriage didn’t go unnoticed by the rest of the world.

Here we are making headlines again:

Source: Buzzfeed

Source: Buzzfeed

Source: The Guardian

Source: Russia Today

Source: The Huffington Post

Source: Cosmopolitan

Source: Gay Star News

Though it appears that the great majority of those travelling home to vote were from one side of the campaign, regardless of what happens tomorrow #HomeToVote was a big win for Ireland.

It showed that people – particularly young people, at a time when emigration has seen youths from across the country move abroad in search of work – are willing to take big steps to have their voice heard.

And it showed that there’s a fierce pride still burning in Ireland, as well as a seemingly endless capacity for shedding tears.