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Couples getting hitched later in life as marriage rates fall

Figures from the CSO show Saturday 31 July was the most popular date for marriage in 2010.

THE AVERAGE AGE of brides and grooms is continuing to rise according to figures from the Central Statistics Office which show an increase in the ages of couples getting married in 2010.

The average age of grooms in 2010 was 34.1 years, a slight increase on the average age in 2009. In the past fifty years, the average age of grooms has decreased from 30.9  in 1960 to a low of 26.2  in 1977 and has increased to a high of 34.1 years in 2010.

A similar trend is evident for brides with the average age decreasing from 27.1 in 1960 to 24.0 in 1977 and has increased to a high of 32.0 in 2010.

The number of marriages registered in 2010 was 20,594, which equates to a crude marriage rate of 4.5 per 1,000 of the population. This compares with a total of 21,627 marriages and a  rate of 4.8 per thousand of the population in 2009. The 2010 rate was the lowest in the state since 1998 when the recorded rate was 4.5 per 1,000 of the population.

Other figures include:

  • 13,781 Roman Catholic marriage ceremonies (67 per cent), 5,991 civil marriages (29 per cent), 427 Church of Ireland ceremonies (2 per cent) with the remaining 2 per cent was made up of Presbyterian, Methodist, Jewish and other ceremonies;
  • July was the most popular month for marriage in 2010 with 13 per cent of ceremonies taking place. January continued to be the least popular month with less than 4 per cent of marriages occurring during that month;
  • Friday and Saturday were the most popular days of the week to get married with 69 per cent of marriages occurring on those days;
  • Saturday 31 July was the most popular date for marriage in 2010, with 10 September following closely behind;
  • In 2010, civil marriages accounted for 29 per cent of all marriages, the same rate as in 2009;
  • Almost 21 per cent (4,231) of all marriages involved the bride and groom being of the same socio-economic group;
  • There were 3,113 divorces granted by the Circuit Court and the High Court in 2010. This was a decrease of 228 (7 per cent) on the 2009 figure.

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74 Comments
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    Mute Tony Daly
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    Jun 19th 2017, 7:17 AM

    The article speaks for the direct professional competence and experience of the author.

    As a contrast, our newly appointed Taoiseach has frequently disputed the correlation between poverty and ill health and premature mortality. Despite the fact that Veradker is a qualified medical practitioner, his political ideology that poverty is not a concern of government, blinds him to the hugely detrimental impact of poverty on human health.

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    Mute Paul
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    Jun 19th 2017, 7:49 AM

    Diets in poorer area plays a bugger role in life expectancy….

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    Mute Tom Newnewman
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    Jun 19th 2017, 10:42 AM

    @Paul: When we see that obesity if a factor in First World “poverty” we should wake up and see that PC fake analyse is keeping the poor, poor. Certain political parties need to keep a pool of poor people as voters to get themselves elected and these are the real enemies of the poor.

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    Mute Tony Daly
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    Jun 19th 2017, 7:19 AM

    The private practice model of GP healthcare is not financially viable in poorer areas. Timely Access to GPs is more restricted in the case of poorer people than for those who are more comfortably off.

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    Mute Anita R
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    Jun 19th 2017, 9:09 AM

    @Jenny mcCarty: You can qualify that statement, I assuming.

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    Mute Tom Newnewman
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    Jun 19th 2017, 10:34 AM

    @Tony Daly: quiet the opposite. Workers have to arrange time off work to visit GP and pay 50 to 65€ as they don’t have medical cards.

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    Mute Tom Molloy
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    Jun 19th 2017, 1:46 PM

    @Geraoid O’Helidhe: Great, all workers should have them and the public housing close to jobs if required.

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    Mute Evelyn Crowley
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    Jun 19th 2017, 7:41 AM

    Well done for highlighting health inequalities. Not new but larger ignored in ireland.

    See the Black Report – very old doc now
    http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.2190/XXMM-JMQU-2A7Y-HX1E?journalCode=joha

    Also this affects everyone to some degree as there is a social gradient.

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    Mute Gavin Huban
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    Jun 19th 2017, 8:59 AM

    It’s all about choices….

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    Mute Kal Ipers
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    Jun 19th 2017, 9:35 AM

    @Gavin Huban: To an extent it is but you have less choices to make or certain choices have a higher cost as a proportion of your income. To eat healthier might be very difficult to afford or even get depending on where you live.

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    Mute Ger Healy
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    Jun 19th 2017, 10:56 AM

    Slightly off topic but one glaring indictment of our health service is that even for private patients, waiting times are only “a matter of month”.
    In this country we have now a new norm of having to wait months even privately except where you are a Minister or politician.

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    Mute Seeking Truth
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    Jun 19th 2017, 12:50 PM

    @Ger Healy: I completely agree. There is something to be said for a competitive American model of medicine where doctors decide to help people, make money because of their qualifications and expertise, and not be grossly overworked. When I have had to see a specialist, after waiting a very long time for the appointment, I wonder about the waiting list of people behind me and how that must affect the health of the doctor being put under so much pressure day in and day out.

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    Mute Tom Molloy
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    Jun 19th 2017, 1:37 PM

    @Ger Healy: The narrative that people are definitely corrupt if they are politicians is wrong and threatens democracy and is similar to the widely held belief that all media are liars.

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    Mute mark kelly
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    Jun 19th 2017, 12:40 PM

    Put it this way…………………….have you ever seen a bookie riding a bicycle?Go figure!

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    Mute Conor Doherty
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    Jun 21st 2017, 11:34 AM

    @Jenny mcCarty: Have you ever asked yourself why you need these gross simplifications, Jenny? I pay a mortgage and work, but I acknowledge this as good fortune, as well as the work ethic and attitude I was lucky enough to inherit – in the long run I’m far better off in all respects. Stop whining – you may need to see the world in such simple terms because you are frightened by its complex problems and just want it to go away. For you and all of us it will, eventually, and this will have been your life – is this the best you can do?

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