World reaction to the result of the referendums on the Belfast Agreement was unanimously joyous and was expressed amid hope that the implementation of the deal would lead to a permanently peaceful and prosperous Northern Ireland.
In Britain, the press lavished praise on the Prime Minister, Mr Tony Blair, whose opinion poll rating has already hit unprecedented levels and seems certain to rise further.
In Italy, Pope John Paul expressed his satisfaction at the result. "I want to express my joy over the desire for peace and reconciliation which emerged from the referendum in Ireland," he said as he ended an open-air Mass before more than 50,000 people in Turin. "I hope that those dear populations will continue with courage on the road that they have taken up."
Reaction from Germany came from Chancellor Helmut Kohl. "I very much welcome the fantastic results and [give] my congratulations to all those who made this result possible. . . I think everything that contributes to peace is a wonderful thing, indeed."
Speaking in Massachusetts at Brandeis University, a premier centre of Jewish study, Dr Kohl said he hoped the developments in Northern Ireland would "have some kind of positive impact on the situation in the Middle East."
In Australia, the Prime Minister, Mr John Howard, said the overwhelming support for the settlement was a historic moment for Ireland.
"Such emphatic Yes votes will be a source of hope to the people of Northern Ireland whose lives for so long have been blighted by bigotry and tribal hatred.
"Few countries in the world have such deep Irish roots as Australia. I know that many Australians will be heartened by such a decisive embrace of a more peaceful future by many people on both sides of the Irish Border."
In Canada, the Prime Minister, Mr Jean Chretien, said the people of Northern Ireland had "taken the counsel of their hopes for the future rather than the fears of the past."
The EU Commission president, Mr Jacques Santer, warmly welcomed the vote, saying the EU would "continue to play its part in helping to promote stability and opportunity".
President Nelson Mandela of South Africa also hailed the vote, saying his country "rejoices with you at this great step forward" and trusts that Northern Ireland "will become a shining beacon of peace to the international community".
In the Middle East, the Palestinian President, Mr Yasser Arafat, hoped the Irish example would help the Middle East peace process.
Israel said what had happened in Ireland was encouraging. An adviser to the Prime Minister, Mr Benjamin Netanyahu, Mr David Bar-Illan, said: "No two cases are similar, but the fact that there is a step forward in the Irish peace process must encourage all who work for peace."
In Spain, Basque nationalists called on the Spanish government to follow Mr Blair's example and seek a negotiated solution to their conflict. "There is a lesson to be learned from the results," said Mr Inaki Anasagasti, spokesman for the moderate Basque Nationalist Party.
"What we must have is the same kind of process under which the British and the Irish, Conservatives and Labourites. . .have all agreed to work together for peace."
The Spanish Prime Minister, Mr Jose Maria Aznar, has steadfastly refused to hold talks with the outlawed Basque terrorist group, ETA, until the rebels renounce killing and lay down their arms.
In France, the chairman of the National Assembly's foreign affairs committee, Mr Jack Lang, said: "This victory is a credit to Tony Blair's government who once again showed a great amount of courage and political intelligence."
President Chirac and the Prime Minister, Mr Lionel Jospin, called the large Yes vote - "a magnificent success, a historic success, a victory for reason over human folly".
The secretary-general of the British Commonwealth, Chief Emeka Anyaoku, said he was delighted. "Ireland has many friends in the Commonwealth who have been following with keen interest developments regarding the peace process and who fervently wish Ireland a peaceful and prosperous future."
Editorial writers in London reached for superlatives and heaped them on Mr Blair. His "passionate commitment" probably averted the prospect of most unionists voting No, the Sunday Times said. To the Observer, the vote was "an astonishing, wonderful and complete victory for the forces of light over darkness; for the future over the past; for progress over reaction; for votes over guns".
In seeking to reflect the enormity of the occasion, the Express on Sunday reached for Confucius. "It will be a long and thorny road, now, on to establishing the Assembly, and there will be dissidents' groups on all sides," an editorial stated. "But as Confucius taught us, even a long journey begins with a first step."