Galway men and women are among the top groups who found love at Knock Marriage Introductions Bureau.
Some 100 local women and 85 men met their marriage partners through the Mayo based bureau since it was set up in 1968.
After Dublin, they are the second group with the greatest number of marriages as a result of being introduced by the organisation which was established to help Catholics meet suitable marriage partners.
The majority of the men who married were in the 36 to 40 year age group followed by the 41 to 45 age group while most of the women were aged 31 to 35 years. More women than men had third level education while there were higher levels of widowers than widows represented.
Male farmers tended to marry nurses primarily followed by clerks, housekeepers, secretaries and teachers. Gardai married nurses, pharmacists and secretaries. Tradesmen chose clerks as marriage partners followed by housekeepers and nurses while contractors married nurses also, according to the bureau’s 41st annual report, just published.
It reveals that the centre dealt with more than 35,000 enquiries since its inception and processed almost 10,000 completed applications from men and more than 7,500 from women. There were 870 marriages since it was set up in 1968. Most of the men and women who married wed the first prospective partner to whom the bureau introduced them.
The report outlines that Galway men and women again rank high among the number of people who completed application forms for the bureau last year. Thirteen of the 98 men and 10 of the 118 women were from Galway ranking the City of the Tribes in second place, after Mayo, for male applicants and in third place after Dublin and Mayo for women applicants. Males came from 24 counties in Ireland while females came from 26 in addition to England (3 ), USA (1 ) and France (1 ).
While most of last year’s applicants were aged 30 to 40 years two men and two women were in the 20 to 25 age group. Ten of the total of 98 men and four of the 118 women were over 60. About 100 of the women had third level education compared to 28 of the men. The majority of the men were farmers, followed by industrial workers and professionals while most of the women worked in professional occupations, education and industry.
The Marriage Introductions Bureau, which is authorised by the archbishop and bishops of Connacht, says it cannot promise that people who apply will find a life partner.
“But all who register can rely on the bureau doing its utmost to help them,” its website outlines. “The purpose of the bureau is to help Catholics to meet suitable prospective marriage partners. As this is a branch of Catholic Action, it is presumed that all applicants are practising Catholics, free to marry and definitely seeking a Catholic marriage. No addresses are divulged by the bureau to either person concerned in an introduction. No introductions are suggested between people from the same parish. All applications are treated in strictest confidence and correspondence is in plain sealed envelopes.”
Applications for introductions cost €150 and are valid for one year. For further information write to the Marriage Introductions Bureau, Our Lady’s Shrine, Knock, Claaremorris, Co Mayo or log onto www.knockmarriagebureau.com or e-mail [email protected] or telephone (094 ) 9375960.
