Secular marriages overtake Catholic weddings in Ireland

NON-RELIGIOUS marriages now outnumber Catholic church weddings in Ireland, official figures show.

Of the 17,217 marriages last year, 43.3 per cent were non-religious ceremonies and 39 per cent were Catholic.

Civil ceremonies accounted for 34 per cent, according to data published by the Central Statistics Office (CSO).

In contrast, 96 per cent of marriages in 1980 were Catholic weddings, while non-religious ceremonies made up just 2 per cent.

The Most Rev Michael Duignan, the Bishop of Clonfert, told The Tablet that the latest figures reflect “the reality of the situation in which we live in”.

He said the figures for Catholic church weddings in Ireland was probably still quite high compared to European averages.

“It is a reflection of an Ireland that has changed; an Ireland that has many different faiths but also many people who choose not to believe, who find meaning in life from something else besides the traditional faith perspective,” said Bishop Duignan.

Gerard Doolan, a CSO statistician, added that the popularity of Catholic and civil ceremonies has been in decline since 2014 when they accounted for 87 per cent of all marriages.