Fewer people in Ireland are choosing to get married, and those who do are more likely than ever to opt for a New Age ceremony, statistics have revealed.
Not including the pandemic years, Ireland’s marriage rate last year hit its lowest level with just 3.8 marriages per 1,000 adults.
Last year there were 19,680 marriages registered in Ireland, a drop of 4.1 per cent from the previous year.
While Catholic ceremonies remain the most common, representing just under a third of weddings, their popularity is declining. From 2023 to 2024 there was an 11.5 per cent drop in Catholic weddings.
The Church of Ireland saw an even more drastic fall of over 20 per cent.
By contrast, the Spiritualist Union of Ireland appears to be experiencing something of a boom, albeit from a lower base. Last year more than a quarter of Irish weddings were “New Age” ceremonies.
Humanist weddings declined by more than 10 per cent and civil ceremonies dropped slightly by 1.3 per cent.
Breda O’Brien who authored a recent report into the marriage statistics for the Iona Institute, said “It is clear that the Churches need to have a think about what is happening and come up with a response.
"For example, at present the Catholic Church will only hold its wedding ceremonies in churches, but it is actually free to hold those weddings in other locations, like hotels, if it wanted. This is already happening in some dioceses in America, for example”.
She continued: “Unless the Churches do find a way to respond, the present trends will probably worsen from their point of view and will very likely extend to funerals as well in due course.”
She concluded: “However, it is interesting that many couples still want a spiritual dimension to their weddings. This provides an opportunity for the Churches”.
