Roman Catholic weddings drop in Donegal by over 40% in decade
Central Statistics Office figures details latest county and national marriage data
The number of Roman Catholic wedding ceremonies in Donegal dropped by 41.8% from 758 in 2014 to 441 in 2024, according to figures released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO)
Overall marriages fell by 23.4% from 1,060 ceremonies to 812, as detailed in the CSO’s Changes in Irish Marriage Ceremonies 2014 to 2024.
Civil Marriages in Donegal also decreased in the same time period, from 198 in 2014 to 173 in 2024, bucking a national trend where civil marriages actually increased by 3.6%.
The number of Presbyterian marriages fell by 49.5%, and Church of Ireland marriages reduced by 57.8%.
Overall marriages dropped by 10.7%, from 22,045 in 2014 to 19,680 marriage ceremonies in 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.”