LONDON -- The first same-sex marriage in Ireland took place this morning after new marriage equality legislation came into force yesterday.
Cormac Gollogly and Richard Dowling, both 35, tied the knot in south Tipperary, Ireland, at the HSE Community Care Hospital in Clonmel. The couple signed the register on a hospital trolley, confirming their status as the first couple to be civilly married in Ireland.
“It’s great to be the first to do it,” Gollogly told The Irish Times.
Gollogly, a barrister from Dublin, and Dowling, who works for the Allied Irish Bank and is from Althone, have been together for 12 years after meeting at popular gay bar The George in Dublin.
VIDEO: Congratulations Cormac & Richard! Ireland's first same-sex married couple. #MarRef https://t.co/Qtigbk08zN pic.twitter.com/5z5U4kiYSq— Irish Times Video (@irishtimesvideo) November 17, 2015
The couple got engaged two years ago after Dowling proposed to Gollogly on a beach in Spain. They formed a civil partnership in September, as they were unsure the marriage equality referendum result would withstand the legal challenges.
The Marriage Act 2015 was passed by the Oireachtas (Ireland's parliament) on Oct. 22, 2015, and signed into law on Oct. 29, 2015, legalising same-sex marriage in Ireland. This legislation came into effect yesterday.
The newlyweds are travelling back to Dublin on Tuesday afternoon for a celebratory meal with friends and family.