Marriages drop by 10% in Westmeath

The number of couples in Westmeath tying the knot fell by 10% last year, according to new figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO).

There were 437 marriages registered in the county last year, down from 484 the year previous.

Roman Catholic ceremonies were still the most popular of choice, with 139 recorded, but they also experienced a decline of 24% from 2022.

Meanwhile, civil ceremonies are on the rise in Westmeath, with 97 registered last year – up from 83 on the year previous.

There were 54 spiritualist ceremonies across the county in 2022, 34 humanist, 8 Church of Ireland and 90 ceremonies from other religious denominations.

There were 15 same-sex weddings in Westmeath last year, seven of which were male and eight were female.

Across Ireland, 21,159 marriages were recorded in 2022.

Fridays were the most popular day of choice for couples to tie the knot and Sundays were the least popular.

Ireland's marriage rate now ranks 19th of all EU member states, with just four marriages taking place every year per 1,000 people.