Ireland votes in referendum to eliminate the protection of “women in the house” from the constitution. John Defterios: A referendum is always carried out by the devil, no matter how angelic its purpose may be.

The apathy of the traditional parties when campaigning, the confusion in the proposed changes and the disinterest of many voters could end up causing an unpleasant surprise in the result, he says. The current constitutional text was supervised, and practically written in 1937, by Eamon de Valera.