Decline in traditional marriages as couples opt for civil ceremonies
Traditional Roman Catholic marriage ceremonies are continuing to decline in popularity as more couples opt for civil ceremonies.
Roman Catholic ceremonies accounted for 45.1% of all ceremonies performed in Ireland last year — down from 49.2% in 2018.
Data issued by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) for marriages in 2019 shows that civil marriages were the ceremony of choice for nearly one-third of opposite-sex couples, at some 30.6%.
In 2019, there were 20,313 marriages in Ireland. Of these, 640 were same-sex marriages.
There has been a steady decline in the number of marriages in Ireland since 2014, when 22,045 ceremonies were performed. These figures are certain to decline further in 2020, CSO statistician, Carol Anne Hennessy, said.
"While there were 20,313 marriages registered in 2019, there is likely to be an impact on the registration of marriages in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic and this will be reflected in the Marriages 2020 release," she said.
Physical distancing and caps on social gatherings are expected to play a significant role in the number of ceremonies which can be staged later in the year, while the lockdown has resulted in an almost total stop to weddings in the last few weeks.
Meanwhile, brides and grooms are getting older, according to the CSO. The average bride is now 34.8 years and the average groom is now 36.8 years.
And, unsurprisingly, the warmer months are the most popular for weddings. June, July and August are the most popular. Friday and Saturday continue to be the most popular days to tie the knot for opposite-sex couples, while Friday is the most popular day for same-sex couples.
In addition to the decline in Roman Catholic ceremonies, the CSO reports an increase in the number of couples choosing humanist and Spiritualist Union of Ireland ceremonies.