More couples say 'I do' in civil ceremonies than Catholic Church weddings for first time

The CSO figures also reveal that brides and grooms are getting older.

Love is all around us, as the song goes, but with Covid-19 also in the air, the number of couples opting to tie the knot last year more than halved compared to the year prior.

Just over 9,523 couples walked down the aisle last year, compared to 20,313 in 2019, new figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) show.