Press Statement

Preasráiteas

28 April 2020

Go to release: Marriages 2019

The CSO has today (28 April 2020) published Marriages 2019, with data compiled from the marriage registration forms of all marriages registered in Ireland in 2019.  Commenting on the report, Carol Anne Hennessy, Statistician, said:

“There were 20,313 marriages in Ireland in 2019 including 640 same-sex marriages. This equates to a crude (unadjusted) marriage rate of 4.1 per 1,000 population.

Although the average age of grooms in an opposite-sex marriage was at its highest to date at 36.8 years, the average age of men in a same-sex marriage was higher at 39.8 years.  The average age of brides in an opposite-sex marriage was 34.8 in 2019, while the comparable age for women in a same-sex marriage was 39.3 years. 

 Unsurprisingly, the warmer months of June, July and August were the most popular for weddings, while the cooler months of January and February were the least popular.

Friday and Saturday continue to be the most popular days to ‘tie the knot’ for opposite-sex couples, while Friday was the most favoured day to wed for same-sex couples. Sundays and Mondays remain the least popular days of the week to marry for all couples.

The number of couples choosing Humanist and Spiritualist Union of Ireland ceremonies is increasing. A Humanist ceremony was the choice of 1,813 opposite-sex couples and 100 same-sex couples in 2019, while 1,512 opposite-sex couples and 106 same-sex couples opted for a Spiritualist Union of Ireland ceremony.  

Civil marriage ceremonies accounted for almost two-thirds (62.2%) of same-sex marriages, while almost a third (30.6%) of opposite-sex couples chose a civil marriage ceremony.

However, the Roman Catholic ceremony was still the most popular choice among opposite-sex couples, with 8,863 couples opting for this ceremony. 

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".

-- ENDS --