80 same sex weddings in Cork in 2016

TWO years on from the Marraige Equality Referendum, the number of same sex couples getting married continues to rise, with Cork having the second highest number of same sex marriages in Ireland in 2016, according to new data by the Central Statistics Office

The data shows that 57 marraiges were registered in Cork City, while 28 marriages took place throughout the rest of the county.

Nationwide, there were 1,056 same sex marriages in 2016, a huge increase from just 91 in 2015.

Of the 28 marriages in Cork County, 12 were male same sex couples and 16 were female same sex couples.

The statistics also show that 44 same sex marriages were registered in the county, suggesting that nearly half of all same sex couples leave the county to get married.

Forty per cent of male couples left the county to get married while while 33 per cent of female couples did so.

Evidence points to couples getting married in Dublin where the number of same sex marriages was double the number of same sex couples who reside in the capital.

A spokesman for the Fine Gael LBGT group in Cork welcomed the news that same sex marriages were on the rise.

“It is almost two years since that great day in May when Irish people voted for marriage equality,” he said.

“I am delighted to see so many couples availing of their right to be married, Their marriages are equal to the marriages of their friends and family members, who have had that right for generations,” he added.

In total, same sex marriages accounted for almost five per cent of all marriages in 2016.