 | In Ireland, marriage by civil ceremony is a civil contract. Marriage by certain religious ceremonies is also recognized by civil law as being a civil contract. For a valid marriage in Ireland, the willing parties to the marriage must have the capacity to marry each other, freely consent to the marriage and observe the necessary formalities as required by the laws of this State. |
Persons wishing to get married by religious ceremony should approach the authorities of the religious denomination concerned for advice on how to proceed and also the local Registrar of Marriages of the District in which the marriage is to take place. Those wishing to get married by civil ceremony should seek advice from the Registrar of Civil Marriages for the District in which they intend getting married.
The Family Law Act, 1995 introduced the following two requirements for a valid marriage:
- the minimum age at which a person, ordinarily resident in the State, may contract a marriage valid in Irish law is eighteen years of age
- each person marrying on or after August 1, 1996 must give three months notification to the appropriate Registrar for the District in which the marriage is to take place
Notification of an intention to marry may be given in either of two ways:
- Both parties may write separately to the Registrar for the district in which the marriage is to be solemnized giving the information about name and address of the parties to the marriage, name of the church or the place where the marriage will take place and the dates of births of the parties or confirmation that the parties are over eighteen.
- A pre-printed form may be completed and returned to the appropriate Registrar. If only one letter or form is sent to the Registrar it must be signed by both parties.
The three months minimum notification period does not commence until a notification has been received from each of the parties to a proposed marriage. Only original documents, including original signatures, may be accepted as notifications of intention to marry. The Registrar will issue each party to the intended marriage with an acknowledgement confirming the date of the receipt of the notification. You must retain and produce it when requested to the person solemnizing the marriage.
It should be noted that these acknowledgements are for record only and are not intended to be a license or certificate signifying the approval of the Registrar concerned to any proposed marriage. The other legally required marriage preliminaries, if applicable, must also be complied with. |  |
The appropriate Registrar for the district is determined by the form of the marriage.
- Registrar of Births, Deaths and (Roman Catholic) Marriages
- Registrar of (Civil) Marriage
- For Civil Marriages or marriages according to the rites and ceremonies of any denomination other than Roman Catholic
Notifications of intention to marry should not be returned to the General Register Office but should be forwarded to the appropriate Registrar of Marriages for the district in which the marriage is due to take place.
If one or both of the parties to the proposed marriage is under eighteen years of age or if the provision of three months notification poses a difficulty, you may make an application to the Courts for an exemption order. The Court will then decide if the marriage should be allowed to proceed or not. Such applications are made through either the Circuit Family Court or High Court Office in the area where either of the parties resides, with whom contact should be made directly for details as to how to proceed. This is an informal procedure and you may apply in person without employing the services of a solicitor. There is no (Court) charge for such an application.
The Court requires applicants for exemptions to show that their applications are justified by demonstrating good reasons and also that the granting of such an application is in the interests of the parties to the intended marriage.
If the permission of the High Court or Circuit Family Court has not been obtained and either party to the marriage is under eighteen years of age, the Registrar or person solemnizing the marriage must not proceed with the marriage ceremony.
Any party to such a marriage or person solemnizing a marriage, who is convicted of knowingly breaching the provisions regarding the minimum age for marriage shall be liable to a fine of up to €635.
There is no requirement to obtain parental consent for a marriage or for the making of an application to the Courts.
For any further enquiries or to get information in detail, you may contact:
Marriages Unit,
The General Register Office,
Government Buildings,
Convent Road, Roscommon,
Ireland
Tel: 1890 252076 / +353 0 9066 32945/6/7/9
GOWEALTHY.COM © 2006
For comments: editor@gowealthy.com
Source: www.groireland.ie
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