Richard Dowling and Cormac Gollogly have been together for 12 years, engaged for five, and on Tuesday were finally able to marry when they became the first gay couple to wed¹ in Ireland following a landmark² referendum.

理查德·道林和科马克·格劳格里在一起12年，订婚已有5年。在一次具有里程碑意义的全民公投之后，两人终于在本周二成婚，成为第一对在爱尔兰结婚的同性恋人。

Ireland in May became the first country to adopt gay marriage via a popular vote. The backing of the measure by 62 percent of voters signalled a major change in what was once a strongly Catholic and socially conservative society.

爱尔兰于今年五月进行了直接投票，成为第一个通过直接投票方式确定同性婚姻合法的国家。爱尔兰曾经是天主教氛围浓厚、社会风气保守的国家，而这一举措的支持者占62%，标志着其社会的重大改变。

After an unsuccessful legal challenge delayed the first weddings, Ireland officially recognised same-sex marriages starting this week, and the couple tied the knot in the southern town of Clonmel early on Tuesday morning.

对法律挑战的失败使得这对新人的第一次婚礼被迫延迟，之后，爱尔兰官方承认同性婚期自本周起有效，这对恋人已于周二清晨在爱尔兰南方城镇克朗梅尔结婚了。

"We are really delighted to be able to do it. Having a full marriage was important to us so now we can relax and get old together," Dowling, 35, told the Irish Times who posted a video of the couple exchanging their vows³ on its website.

爱尔兰时报》将二人交换誓言的视频发布到了网站上。“能结婚真是太开心了。对于我们来说，拥有一个完整的婚姻十分重要，而现在我们可以松一口气，白头偕老了，”35岁的道林对《爱尔兰时报》如此说道。

Mary-Claire Heffernan, the wedding registrar⁴ who pronounced the newly weds⁵ husband and husband, said they were the first same-sex marriage couple to be married in Ireland.

婚礼登记员玛丽-克莱尔·赫弗南宣布两位新婚者互为丈夫，并称他们是第一对在爱尔兰结婚的同性恋人。

Ireland's "Yes" vote in May has had a profound effect on the country's gay community with couples holding hands now a common sight in Dublin while gay politicians have become national celebrities⁶.

爱尔兰这次公投的通过对于该国同性恋群体有着深远影响，在都柏林，手牵手的同性恋人现在很常见，同性恋政客亦可以成为国家名人。

Ireland followed several Western European countries including Britain, France and Spain in allowing gay marriage, which is also legal in South Africa, Brazil, Canada and the United States, while homosexuality remains⁷ taboo⁸ and often illegal in many parts of Africa and Asia.

包括英国、法国和西班牙在内的一些西欧国家已经承认同性恋婚姻，爱尔兰紧随其后。同性恋婚姻在南非、巴西、加拿大和美国同样合法，但在非洲和亚洲的大部分地区却仍是禁忌且不合法。