DUBLIN — Irish voters decided by a large margin Friday to end the country’s strict abortion ban, according to two major exit polls.

The exit polls by RTE television and the Irish Times both projected a landslide victory for the ‘‘yes’’ forces seeking to loosen constitutional restrictions prohibiting most abortions. Official results are due Saturday.

The exit polls suggested strong support in virtually all parts of the country for repealing the ban.

Catherine Murphy, coleader of the small Social Democrats party, said the polls found that “voters have taken on board the clear message that the constitutional ban harms women’’ and must be removed from the constitution.

If the exit poll numbers hold up, the victory will be of a larger magnitude than ‘‘yes’’ activists had believed possible. It would then fall to Parliament to establish new laws governing abortions.

The referendum was a battle for the soul of a traditionally conservative Roman Catholic nation that has seen a wave of liberalization in recent years.

The country’s leaders supported a ‘‘yes’’ vote to repeal a 1983 constitutional amendment requiring authorities to treat a fetus and its mother as equals under the law. They called it a once-in-a-generation opportunity to liberalize some of Europe’s strictest abortion rules.

Voters went to the polls after a campaign that aroused deep emotions on both sides. Advocates of repeal called a ‘‘yes’’ vote a landmark in Irish women’s fight for equality and the right to control their own bodies. Opponents said it was a betrayal of Ireland’s commitment to protect the unborn.

The vote also was a key indicator of Ireland’s trajectory, three years after the country voted to allow same-sex marriages and a year after its first openly gay prime minister took office.

The Irish Times exit poll indicated overwhelming support for change. The survey by pollster Ipsos-MRBI said 68 percent of voters backed repeal of the ban and 32 percent opposed it.

The pollster said it interviewed some 4,000 people and the survey had a margin of error of plus or minus 1.5 percentage points.

Theresa Sweeney, a repeal supporter, was one of the first to arrive at a church polling station in Dublin on Friday. ‘‘I feel like I’ve waited all of my adult life to have a say on this,’’ she said.

Emma Leahy said her ‘‘yes’’ vote came from her firm belief that everyone should be able to make their own choice when it comes to abortion.

‘‘For Ireland, it’s hope for the future,’’ she said of the referendum. ‘‘Whether you agree or disagree, it shouldn’t be the government or anyone else making that decision.’’

Vera Rooney voted against repeal. ‘‘It is a hard decision but I just feel I don’t have the right to take life,’’ she said. ‘‘I think life is sacred and for that reason I had to vote no.’’

The referendum was called to decide whether the Eighth Amendment to the constitution should stay in place.

The amendment requires authorities to equally protect the right to life of a mother and that of a fetus, from the moment of conception. That effectively bans all abortions in Ireland, except in cases when the woman’s life is at risk.

Having an illegal abortion is punishable by up to 14 years in prison, and several thousand Irish women travel each year to get abortions in neighboring Britain.

Under a government proposal that will be considered in Parliament if the referendum results are confirmed, women would be allowed to terminate pregnancies during the first 12 weeks. Later abortions would be allowed in special cases.

Prime Minister Leo Varadkar, a physician, voted in favor of repeal. He told reporters the high turnout and good weather boded well for approval of the referendum.

‘‘Not taking anything for granted of course, but quietly confident,’’ he said, adding that the upside of a sunny day in Ireland is that people come out to vote.

Thousands of Irish people abroad traveled home to take part in the historic referendum, and supporters of repeal gathered at Dublin Airport to give arrivals an ecstatic welcome.

Some activists held a placard reading ‘‘Thank you for making the journey so other women don’t have to’’ — a reference to the way Irish women seeking abortions have had to leave the country to obtain them.

Tara Flynn, who 11 years ago flew to the Netherlands for an abortion, said she planned to vote ‘‘yes’’ to make sure future generations of women don’t endure what she did, with feelings of isolation and shame.

Campaigning was not allowed Friday, but Dublin was still filled with signs and banners urging citizens to vote ‘‘yes’’ or ‘‘no.’’ Many of the antiabortion signs showed photographs of fetuses.

Voting had already taken place on Ireland’s remote islands so that paper ballots could be taken to the mainland and counted in time.