New statistics from the CSO on marriages in Ireland show that the number of marriages registered in the country in 2007 was 22,756, which equates to an average marriage rate of 5.2 per 1,000 of the population. This compares with a total of 22,089 and a similar marriage rate of 5.2 per thousand in 2006.
The average age of grooms in 2007 was 33.4 years, slightly higher than 33.2 years in 2006 but an increase of 3.2 on the 1996 figure. The pattern for brides is similar with the average age increasing from 28.4 years in 1996 to 31.2 and 31.3 years in 2006 and 2007 respectively.
The number of Roman Catholic marriage ceremonies was 16,854 in 2007 and accounted for 74 per cent of all marriages in the year. Roman Catholic marriages accounted for 73 per cent of all marriages in 2006 and 90 per cent of all marriages in 1996. The number of civil marriages was 5,146 or just under 23 per cent of all marriages in 2007, a slight increase of 19 on the 2006 figure. In 1996, there were 928 civil marriages, six per cent in Ireland, when divorce was not yet legalised.
Marriages where both the bride and groom were residing in Ireland before marriage accounted for 92 per cent (20,926 ) of marriages. Of these, 84 per cent were residing in the same local authority area before marriage. The marriages figures in this release also show the most popular month for marriage in 2007 was August, when 15 per cent of marriages occurred. Marriages in June, July, August, and September accounted for 54 per cent of all marriages in the year. January was the least popular month with just three per cent of marriages occurring during that month. Friday and Saturday were the most popular days of the week to get married in 2007, accounting for 72 per cent of all marriages. The least popular day was Sunday when just over one per cent of marriages were recorded.
