This release is categorised as a CSO Frontier Series Output. Particular care must be taken when interpreting the statistics in this release as it may use new methods which are under development and/or data sources which may be incomplete, for example, new administrative data sources.
Over the 10-year period 2014-2024, the number of marriages has fallen by 7.7% from 22,045 to 20,348.
Roman Catholic ceremonies were the most common marriage type in 2014 at 13,071, while in 2024 these had fallen by almost 51% to 6,425 such ceremonies, making them the second most popular choice. Civil Registrations were the most popular type of ceremony in 2024 at 6,743.
Between 2014 and 2024 there was a 68% rise in the number of Humanist ceremonies.
Church of Ireland ceremonies accounted for two in every hundred marriages in 2014, while in 2024 these ceremonies accounted for one in every hundred.
In 2024, the five most popular ceremony types, Civil Registrations, Roman Catholic, Humanist, Spiritualist Union of Ireland, and OneSpirit accounted for 85% of all wedding ceremonies in Ireland.
Please note that the Marriage 2025 release will be published on 05 May 2026 at 11am.
Table 1 below provides a breakdown of the changes in marriage ceremonies (opposite and same-sex) over the years 2014 and 2024. The type of ceremony breakdown is based on similar named rites. Table 2 provides a more comprehensive breakdown of the different rites which are included in the 'Other Religious' groupings.
Civil Registrations (6,743), Roman Catholic Christianity (6,425), Humanist (1,507), Spiritualist Union of Ireland (1,446), and OneSpirit (1,085). These five ceremony types accounted for 85% of wedding ceremonies in 2024. See Figure 1 and Table 1.
Roman Catholic Christianity (13,071), Civil Registrations (6,167), Humanist (895), Spiritualist Union of Ireland (819), and Church of Ireland Christianity (443). These five ceremony types accounted for 97% of wedding ceremonies in 2024. See Figure 1 and Table 1.
| 2014 | 2024 | |
| Civil Registration | 6167 | 6743 |
| Roman Catholic Christianity | 13071 | 6425 |
| Humanist | 895 | 1507 |
| Spiritualist Union of Ireland | 819 | 1446 |
| One Spirit Named Rites | 47 | 1085 |
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Statistician's Comment
The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (28 April 2026) published Changes in Irish Marriage Ceremonies 2014-2024.
Commenting on the release, Seán O’Connor, Statistician in the Life Events and Demography Division, said: "Each year the CSO publishes detailed statistics as part of our series of releases on Marriages. These include the number of marriages, the ages of bride and groom, the county of marriage, and the form of ceremony. Today’s release, which is a CSO Frontier Series, provides a 10-year analysis of the different types of marriage ceremonies chosen by people in Ireland, and how the types of ceremonies have changed over the years 2014-2024.
Overall, fewer couples are getting married in Ireland. Between 2014 and 2024, the number of marriages (including both opposite and same-sex couples) decreased by 7.7% from 22,045 to 20,348.
In 2014, Roman Catholic ceremonies were the most popular form of marriage, accounting for six out of every ten marriages in Ireland, or 13,071 ceremonies. However, in 2024, this type of ceremony choice had fallen by almost 51% and instead accounted for just over three out of every ten marriages or 6,425 ceremonies. While Civil Registrations accounted for a similar share of marriages at three out of every ten, they were the most popular choice of ceremony in 2024 with 6,743 couples choosing this option.
Some 443 couples chose to have a Church of Ireland ceremony in 2014, with 56% fewer choosing this in 2024 when 193 such ceremonies took place. In 2014, 42 couples chose an Islamic ceremony, which rose slightly to 45 in 2024.
There has been significant growth in couples choosing other types of ceremonies. The type of ceremony disaggregation in this release is based on similar named rites. Between 2014 and 2024, there was a 68% increase in the number of people opting for Humanist ceremonies. In 2024, 1,507 couple chose a Humanist ceremony, up from 895 such ceremonies in 2014.”