Couples attend Dublin's Shrine of Saint Valentine for special blessing

Ahead of the Feast of Saint Valentine, two couples from the Archdiocese of Dublin received a special blessing at the shrine of the holy relics of Saint Valentine in Dublin City on Wednesday, February 12.

Bishop of Kildare and Leighlinm Denis Nulty led the annual blessing of two engaged couples - Louise O'Reilly and David Lovett, and Margaret Gleeson and Jimmy Moynihan - on Wednesday afternoon.

O'Reilly and Lovett, who are celebrating 14 years together this month, plan to get married next year. Both from Dublin, the couple now lives in the Saint Brigid’s parish of Castleknock, where they recently welcomed their newborn daughter, Lexi.

February 12, 2025: David Lovett and Louise O’Reilly at Whitefriar Street Church in Dublin. (RollingNews.ie)

Gleeson and Moynihan, both widowed, first connected as penpals through Ireland's Own magazine. Hailing from Dublin, they are both members of the parish of Saint Alphonsus and Columba, Ballybrack, in the Archdiocese, and are planning to get married on May 22.

Febraury 12, 2025: Jimmy Moynihan and Margaret Gleeson at Whitefriar Street Church. (RollingNews.ie)

Marriage and housing in Ireland

As part of Wednesday's events in Whitefriar Church, new Amárach research on couples and housing was presented, as was 2024 sacramental marriage data from Accord, the all-island Catholic marriage preparation and couples counselling services.

The Irish Catholic Bishops Conference said on Wednesday that the Amárach research was commissioned in the context of the continuing decline in “the crude marriage rate” reported by Ireland's Central Statistics Office (CSO), and the ongoing housing crisis, to determine the level of correlation between couples deciding to marry and have children, and the availability of housing supply.

For the research, 1,000 adults aged 18 and over throughout the Republic of Ireland were surveyed in January 2025 online with the Amárach panel using the Amárach omnibus survey. 

Tony Shanahan, Director of Accord CLG, said on Wednesday that the results showed that 84% of adults in Ireland (89% of women and 79% of men) said that the housing crisis is causing some couples to delay getting married and/or have children.

69% of people aged 25-34 in Ireland said the cost of owning a house (mortgage rates etc) is causing them to delay getting married and/or have children.

The lack of housing where they live is causing a delay for 39% of affected couples, and the cost of renting for 37% of couples. Non-housing-related reasons are a cause of delays for 19% of couples.

The research also showed that 54% of those aged 25-34 years in Ireland plan to get married and/or have children.

48% of couples planning to get married would have married before now if it wasn’t for the housing situation, the research showed, Shanahan said, adding that 33% would have married in the past three years but didn’t.

60% of couples planning to have children would have done so before now if it wasn’t for the housing situation - 36% would have had a child in the past three years but didn’t.

Meanwhile, Accord shared its 2024 island-wide data for couples participating in its marriage preparation courses, which showed a decrease from 7,281 couples in 2023 to 5,194 couples in 2024.

"Vocation crisis?"

Bishop Nulty addressed the research in his homily: "In Ireland, the numbers celebrating sacramental weddings continue to slip according to the Central Statistics Office, with the figure of 34% as per the statistics relating to 2023.

"The very same year saw 32.2% civil ceremonies.  

"Perhaps sacramental marriage is going through a vocations crisis?

"We need to do much more to promote the sacrament."

He continued: "It is incumbent on people of faith to do our best to promote all that is wholesome about sacramental marriage, inviting God into your union, what could be more beautiful?

"It is in many ways revolutionary to become sacramentally married today."