Anti-Brexit Britons hit Irish pub in Brussels to watch vote

People watch a television in a pub showing Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May during a vote of Brexit deal at the House of Commons, in Brussels, Tuesday March 12, 2019. In an Irish pub in the Belgian capital, a group of Brexit opponents has gathered to watch British lawmakers vote on their country's future in the European Union. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

A television screen placed in a pub displays Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May during a vote of the Brexit deal at the House of Commons, in Brussels, Tuesday March 12, 2019. In an Irish pub in the Belgian capital, a group of Brexit opponents has gathered to watch British lawmakers vote on their country's future in the European Union. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

BRUSSELS – A small group of British citizens who oppose Brexit were in an Irish pub in Belgium's capital when they watched a vote on their country's future.

The Britons drinking beer in Brussels had their eyes fixed intently on the James Joyce pub's TV as lawmakers in London said "yea" or "nay" to Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit deal.

The agreement's resounding defeat Tuesday night drew a smattering of applause in the bar, which is located down the road from the headquarters of the EU's executive European Commission.

At other times, the anti-Brexit crowd booed May and cried "Yes! Yes!" when the possibility of the U.K. abandoning its planned departure was mentioned.

The pub's co-owner, Jessica Fitch, summed up the mood before the vote, saying Brexit makes her "feel like something has been ripped away from me."