Louth women look beyond county borders for husbands

Women in Louth are more likely then men to look further afield for a future partner, according to new figures released today by the Central Statistics Office. 

The statistics, relating to opposite sex marriages, show that of 475 Louth women that married in between January and December 2017, 40 of them married men from other counties in Ireland - whilst a further 15 married men from abroad. 

However, 420 Louth women married a man who also resides within the Wee County - meaning a great majority choose someone close to home. 

Those numbers compare to 455 Louth males who married last year, 31 of whom married women from other counties. Four Louth men got hitched to a lady from outside of Ireland. 420 Louth grooms married fellow Louth brides. 

The average age of Louth men tying the knot last year was 36.3 while the average age of the brides was younger - at 34.2. Both of these figures are in line with national averages. 

Last year, Louth saw 603 opposite sex marriage ceremonies - 328 of which were Catholic. Nine were Church of Ireland ceremonies, two were Presbyterian, 36 were under the auspices of the Spiritualist Union of Ireland, 154 were civil marriages and 44 were humanist. 

There were 19 same sex marriages in Louth in 2017, but 38 in Meath. 13 were civil marriages.