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.

“In a multi–cultural world, people will not stop witnessing to their faith, however irritating and embarrassing they might be" - Archbishop Michael Jackson.

“It was an amazing experience and I met so many remarkable Irish missionaries doing incredible work" - former RTE journalist Charlie Bird.