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The number of marriages celebrated in 2022 rose by 35% compared with 2021

Online ISSN: 2565-5957
CSO statistical publication, , 11am

In 2022 there were 618 same-sex marriages, 305 male and 313 female.

There were 22,555 opposite-sex marriages in 2022. The average age of grooms was 37.4, unchanged from 2021. The average age of grooms rose from 27.3 in 1972 to 27.4 in 1982 and increased to 37.4 in 2022. There is a similar trend for the average age of brides, increasing from 24.8 in 1972 to 25.3 in 1982 before rising to 35.4 in 2022

There were 23,173 marriages (opposite and same-sex) in 2022 compared with 17,217 in 2021, an increase of 5,956 (35%). This increase is reflective of the lifting of COVID-19 pandemic restrictions and the resulting impact on marriage numbers in 2022. There were 4.5 marriages per 1,000 population in 2022, up from 3.4 in 2021. Almost 3 in every 100 marriages (2.7%) were same-sex in 2022.

Number of Marriages, 2020-2022
 202020212022
Opposite sex9,20916,71722,555
Same Sex314500618
All marriages9,52317,21723,173
    
All Marriages rate per 1,000 population1.93.44.5
    
Average Age of Groom (Opposite-Sex Marriage)37.837.437.4
Average Age of Bride (Opposite-Sex Marriage)35.735.435.4
Average Age of Male (Same-Sex Marriage)40.040.439.4
Average Age of Female (Same-Sex Marriage)40.039.938.2
X-axis labelAll MarriagesOpposite-Sex MarriagesSame-Sex Marriages
20182105320389664
20192031319673640
202095239209314
20211721716717500
20222317322555618

In 2022, religious ceremonies accounted for 64% of all marriages. There were 9,376 (40%) Catholic marriage ceremonies, 284 (1.2%) Church of Ireland ceremonies, The Spiritualist Union of Ireland performed 2,299 (9.9%) ceremonies and 2,986 (13%) couples opted for other religious ceremonies. The majority of non-religious ceremonies were civil marriages which accounted for 26% (6,071) of all marriages; the remaining 2,157 (9.3%) couples had Humanist ceremonies. See table 1 and figure 2.

%
Roman
Catholic
40.5
Civil
Marriages
26.2
Humanist
Association
9.3
Spiritualist
Union of
Ireland
9.9
Other
Religious
12.9
Church of
Ireland
1.2
65%
Percentage of opposite-sex couples opting for religious ceremonies.

Almost two thirds of all opposite-sex marriages were religious ceremonies in 2022. There were 9,376 (42%) Catholic services, 2,200 (9.8%) by the Spiritualist Union, 284 (1.3%) in Church of Ireland ceremonies and 59 (0.3%) Presbyterian services. 2,816 (12%) were held under other religious denominations. Civil marriages accounted for 5,767 (26%) while the remaining 2,053 (9.1 %) were services held by the Humanist Association.

49%
Percentage of same-sex couples having civil ceremonies in 2022.

Almost half (49%) of same-sex marriages were civil ceremonies in 2022. 104 (17%) services were held by the Humanist Association, 99 (16%) by the Spiritualist Union of Ireland and 111 (18%) by other religious denominations.

July
The most popular month for all marriages in 2022.

July was the most popular month for opposite-sex marriages in 2022

In 2022, the most popular month for opposite-sex marriages was July while in 2021 it was August. Almost one in seven marriages (13%) in 2022 were in July while almost one in four (23%) took place in the last three months of the year. 542 (2.4%) marriages took place in January, the least popular month to wed in 2022.

Friday and Saturday were the most popular days of the week to get married in 2022 with 14,203 (63%) of opposite-sex marriages taking place on these days. The least popular day was Sunday when 864 (3.8%) of marriages in 2022 took place.

3rd June was the most popular date for opposite-sex marriages in 2022 with 231 ceremonies taking place on this date. This was followed by the 29th July with 226 ceremonies taking place on this date.

July was the most popular month for same-sex marriages in 2022

In 2022, the most popular month for same-sex marriages was July, while in 2021, it was September. Over one in seven marriages (15%) in 2022 were in July, almost one in five (19%) took place in the last three months of the year. 16 (2.6%) marriages took place in January, the least popular month in 2022.

Friday 26th August was the most popular date for same-sex marriages in 2022 with 10 (1.6%) ceremonies taking place on this date. This was followed by Thursday 28th July, Friday 19th August, and Friday 2nd September, all with 9 (1.5% each) ceremonies taking place on this date.

EU marriage

In 2020, Cyprus had the highest crude (unadjusted) marriage rate of the EU27 Member States with a rate of 8.9 per 1,000 population. In 2021 (most recent available data), Hungary had the highest with a rate of 7.4 per 1,000 population. Portugal and Slovenia had joint lowest in 2021 with a population rate of 2.8 per 1,000 population. In 2021, Ireland’s population rate increased from 3.4 to 4.5 per 1,000 population. See figure 3 and link to Eurostat table

EU - 27Marriage Rate
Cyprus (2020)8.9
Lithuania6
Latvia6
Hungary7.4
Romania6
Slovakia4.8
Denmark4.7
Malta4.4
Austria (2020)5.2
Czech Republic4.5
Germany4.3
Estonia (2020)5
Croatia4.6
Poland4.5
Sweden3.7
Greece (2020)4.4
Bulgaria3.9
Ireland (2020)1.9
Ireland (2021)3.4
Ireland (2022)4.5
Finland3.5
Belgium3.5
Netherlands3.2
France (2018)3.5
Spain3.1
Luxembourg3
Portugal2.8
Slovenia2.8
Italy3.1
EU - 27Marriage Rate
Cyprus (2020)8.9
Lithuania6
Latvia6
Hungary7.4
Romania6
Slovakia4.8
Denmark4.7
Malta4.4
Austria (2020)5.2
Czech Republic4.5
Germany4.3
Estonia (2020)5
Croatia4.6
Poland4.5
Sweden3.7
Greece (2020)4.4
Bulgaria3.9
Ireland (2020)1.9
Ireland (2021)3.4
Ireland (2022)4.5
Finland3.5
Belgium3.5
Netherlands3.2
France (2018)3.5
Spain3.1
Luxembourg3
Portugal2.8
Slovenia2.8
Italy3.1

Divorces granted in 2021

For the numbers of divorces and judicial separations granted in 2021 (the most recent data available) see attached link:  (Courts Service Annual Report 2021). 

Population

The estimated population (usual residence) in April 2022 was 5,100,229.

Same-sex Marriage Legislation

The Marriage Act 2015 (No.35/2015) effective from the 16th November 2015 (S.I 504/15 refers) allows parties of the same sex to marry.  From the 16th November 2015, when same-sex marriage legislation came into effect, same-sex couples no longer had the option to apply for a Civil Partnership. 

Table 1 Summary data for marriages 2017-2022

Table 2 Age specific marriage rates, 2021 and 2022

Table 3A Marriages of opposite-sex couples registered in 2022 classified according to age of groom/age of bride and form of ceremony

Table 3B Same-Sex Marriages registered in 2022 classified according to age of older party/younger party and form of ceremony, listing male same-sex marriages and female same-sex marriages separately

Table 4A Marriages of opposite-sex couples registered in 2022 celebrated in each county and city classified by form of ceremony

Table 4B Same-Sex marriages registered in 2022 celebrated in each county and city classified by sex and form of ceremony

Table 5A Marriages of opposite-sex couples registered in 2022 classified by month and day of week of marriage

Table 5B Same-Sex Marriages registered in 2022 classified by month and day of week of marriage

Table 6A Marriages of opposite-sex couples registered in 2022 classified by nationality of bride and of groom

Table 6B Same-sex marriages registered in 2022 classified by nationality according to older party/younger party, listing male and female same-sex marriages separately

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