love, marriage, and Catholicism in Ireland

By Diogenes ( articles ) | Jul 01, 2005

Matrimony remains popular among the people of Ireland. Catholicism, regrettably, less so.

In 1996 there were 16,174 marriages in Ireland. In 2002, there were 20,556, according to official statistics released last week.

The number of Catholic marriage ceremonies in Ireland increased from 14,607 in 1996 to 15,908 in 2002. However, this increase masked a significant decline, from over 90% to 77%, in the proportion of all marriages accounted for by these ceremonies.

The number of civil marriages in Ireland increased nearly fourfold over the same period: from 928 in 1996 to 3,683 in 2002.