This weekend's historic vote meant that those who espoused violence had been told No by people on both sides of the Border, the former Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Peter Barry, said in west Cork yesterday.
But the vote did not mean that matters ended there, he cautioned. Unionists and nationalists would now have to compromise further and continue to work together to cement what had been achieved. By their extraordinary support for the change in the Constitution, the people of the Republic had sent a message to the bombers and the gunmen that they no longer had support and that they would not be tolerated. The vote represented an important day in Irish history, he added.
The Minister for Agriculture, Mr Walsh, said the vote in favour of changing Articles 2 and 3 paved the way for cross-Border co-operation in the areas of trade and tourism. The potential to develop the two sectors was huge .
For the Minister for Education, Mr Martin, the vote was "a tremendous day for Ireland" and it gave a new authority to the peace process. There were difficult days ahead, but the courageous efforts of those who had brought the process this far had been rewarded.
Speaking at the Neptune Stadium count centre in Cork, the Tanaiste, Ms Harney, said the high Yes vote represented a great day in Irish history. The way had been cleared to deal with the other key issues that lay ahead.
Paying tribute in particular to Mr John Hume and Mr David Trimble and to their leadership, she said it was vital that over the next months and years that people do everything they could to support them and to consolidate the peace process .
Fine Gael's Mr Jim O'Keeffe said that Michael Collins, who he said would have voted Yes himself, "would be smiling down from heaven". The vote was the culmination of the work started by Collins in the 1920s, he added. "The long suffering of the Irish people has come to an end. You could say it's the end of 8OO years of violence on this island."
Mr Dan Wallace TD of Fianna Fail said the vote was historic both for the North and the Republic. The implications were enormous for both parts of the island and for new cross-Border initiatives in the areas of trade, tourism and the arts.
Mr Noel O'Flynn TD, also Fianna Fail, said the vote was a landmark decision by the peoples of the Republic and the North.