An ever-changing Ireland - More secular

IT is a characteristic of this society that Official Ireland often lags behind the real Ireland, the one we all live in. 

We are not unique in this but it is possible to argue that the gap between the imagined, sanctioned Ireland and the real one is wider than it is in most societies — an idea confirmed by the latest Central Statistics Office (CSO) Yearbook of Ireland 2016.

The changes around marriage seem a good indicator of change and this gap. Catholic marriage ceremonies have fallen from 16,854 in 2007 to 12,486 last year. Comparable rates in the Church of Ireland are 553 to 393. Brides and grooms are older — 31 and 33 — and the number of civil ceremonies has increased risen from 4,762 to 6,156.

The birth rate has fallen too — 65,909 births registered in 2015; 1,553 fewer than in the previous year. The suicide rate has also slowed, down from a mid-recession height of 554 to 451 last year.

The move away from what seems an age-old commitment to the authority of the Catholic Church strengthens the argument for a meaningful change in school patronage.