Four years ago on May 22 2015, Irish citizens took to the polls to vote resoundingly in favour of same-sex marriage.

A referendum to amend the constitution so that it would state: "marriage may be contracted in accordance with law by two persons without distinction as to their sex" was voted in with a landslide majority of 62.7 per cent. This made Ireland the first country to legalise marriage equality through popular vote.

Ireland's historic vote has resulted in the country set to receive a Global Luminary Award at World Pride in New York, it will be accepted by Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Katherine Zappone.

"We must never under-estimate the power of the referendum. Not only was marriage equality introduced, it came to pass because our neighbours, friends and family stood up and voted for our rights - that had not happened anywhere else," Zappone tells Hot Press. "It was true solidarity, true equality and true love."

Senator David Norris, who had fought to reform Irish law back in 1993 which criminalised homosexual activity believes it was an "extremely historic" day in Irish history.

"I've just gone 75 years old, and for the majority of my life I was a criminal," says Norris. "So it's nice to go from being a criminal to being able to marry a man - not that there's a chance of that happening! It was also particularly important that the Irish people voted in this law and it wasn't a ruling by the government."

The day was celebrated as a progression in liberal values and Irish society's increasing separation from the Catholic Church's influence, with Archbishop Eamon Martin calling for a 'No' vote.

All counties voted 'Yes' except for County Roscommon, with 51.4 per cent of the population voting against the amendment.