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Changing conceptions of marriage in Ireland: law and practice
Date
2018
Abstract
Marriage continues to hold an important position in Irish society. While cohabitation has grown significantly as a relationship choice in recent decades or so, more often than not it is a precursor or ‘trial period’ for marriage, with many cohabiting relationships transforming into marriages after a period of time. Further, public opinion demonstrates a continued attachment to marriage as the basis for commitment within relationships. In one 2011 survey, Attitudes to Family Formation in Ireland,1 there was strong support amongst respondents for marriage as an institution and most aspired to marry at some point. Indeed, 68 per cent of the respondents in that survey agreed with the statement ‘[c]ohabiting is fine but marriage seals the deal’.2 From a legal perspective, marriage and the marital family in Ireland receive the highest levels of protection. It is the family based on marriage that is accorded elevated protection within the Irish Constitution, with non-marital or de facto families not recognised.
Supervisor
Description
peer-reviewed
Publisher
Citation
Child and Family Law Quarterly;30 (3), pp. 279-300