There were 20,313 marriages in Ireland in 2019 including 640 same-sex marriages. This equates to a crude (unadjusted) marriage rate of 4.1 per 1,000 population – statistician Carol Anne Hennessy.

While the Roman Catholic ceremony was still the most popular choice among opposite-sex couples, the 2018 report shows that civil marriage ceremonies accounted for 62.8 per cent of same-sex marriages and 28.7 per cent of opposite-sex marriages.

“Will those who continue to sincerely believe that marriage is between a man and a woman be forced to act against their faith and conscience?”

Extending civil marriage to include a relationship between people of the same sex will change the meaning of marriage.