Church wedding? It's knot for us...

Sharp fall in couples saying 'I do' at the altar with huge rise in popularity of humanist ceremonies

- DANNY DE VAAL

COUPLES are abandoning the traditional walk down the church aisle in historic numbers opting instead for secular, humanist, and civil ceremonies.

Figures released today by the Central Statistics Office revealed the number of traditional Catholic weddings has collapsed over the last decade.

While those numbers might be falling, alternative and secular ceremonies have experienced a spectacular boom.

The CSO's newly published report The Secular Shift: Irish Marriage Ceremony Trends 2014-2024 lays bare a dramatically changing Ireland.

In 2014, the Catholic Church was the undisputed king of Irish weddings, accounting for six out of every 10 marriages. An incredible 13,071 couples said “I do” before a priest that year.

Fast-forward ten years and that figure has plummeted by an astonishing 51%.

Just 6,425 couples opted for a Roman Catholic ceremony that year, making up just over three out of every 10 marriages.

For the first time in modern memory, the Catholic Church has lost its top spot, being relegated to the second most popular choice for couples tying the knot.

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