TV3 star Ursula Halligan says she's been overwhelmed by support since revealing she is gay

TV3 Political Editor Ursula Halligan has said she's overwhelmed by the messages of support she's received since revealing she's gay.  

The 54-year-old spoke on The 5.30 News on TV3 this evening after writing an emotive piece about her sexuality in the Irish Times.

The article received huge attention from well-known figures as well as the public, with Graham Norton calling the article “heartbreaking” and retweeting it to his one million followers.

“I can’t begin to cope with the huge reaction I’ve received today, it’s coming from all across the world", Ms. Halligan told The 5.30.

"All I can say to everybody who contacted me today is how grateful I am for messages of support."

The journalist revealed how she suffered with depression as a teenager as she struggled to accept herself. She also said that the upcoming marriage referendum made her decide it was time to come out and support a ‘Yes’ vote.

"For some years I’ve been struggling to accept that I am gay but I never thought for a moment that I’d ever go public on this issue.

“Along comes the marriage referendum and it really forced me to confront my situation. I realised that I just couldn’t sit on the fence. I couldn’t pretend to be impartial on this subject."

WATCH: Ursala Halligan says she's been  overwhelmed by support 

She also explained her decision to stand aside from TV3's coverage of the upcoming marriage referendum.

“I realised that I couldn't be objective covering this story – it was just too personal to me.”

"The ethical thing to do was not to cover the story. I went in to TV3 and asked to be taken off the story. I’m very grateful for the way they have handled this."