Actor Colin Farrell wrote a letter in Ireland's Sunday Times and called for votes in favor of marriage equality, sharing the story of his gay brother to help make the case.

"My brother Eamon didn't choose to be gay," wrote Farrell. "Yes, he chose to wear eyeliner to school and that probably wasn't the most pragmatic response to the daily torture he experienced at the hands of school bullies. But he was always proud of who he was. Proud and defiant and, of course, provocative. Even when others were casting him out with fists and ridicule and the laughter of pure loathsome derision, he maintained an integrity and dignity that flew in the face of the cruelty that befell him."

After talking about Eamon's strength in the face of persecution, Colin Farrell remarks with amazement that persevering eventually meant leaving Ireland altogether. After Eamon met and fell in love with Steven Mannion, they wanted to marry.

"They had to travel a little farther than down the aisle to make their vows, though, to Canada, where their marriage was celebrated," Farrell wrote. "That's why this is personal to me. The fact that my brother had to leave Ireland to have his dream of being married become real is insane. INSANE."

A campaign is encouraging young marriage equality supporters to register to vote before November 25 they can take part in a national referendum on equality scheduled for May.