Half of city newly weds‘lived in sin’

HALF of Londonderry newly-weds were ‘living in sin’ before getting married last year, it has been revealed.

New data also show that eight gay men and four lesbian women tied the knot in Londonderry in 2011.

But despite the six happy same-sex couples availing of their rights under the Civil Partnership Act there was also high proportion of divorce across the board.

Although there were 526 marriages in Londonderry in 2011, this was counteracted by 266 divorcees. There were a total of 133 divorces in the city last year.

According to the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) Londonderry had the highest number of divorcees outside Belfast (618), Lisburn (288) and North Down (267).

Meanwhile, it also transpires that 48 per cent of all marriages in the city were between couples who had been previously ‘living in sin.’

NISRA revealed almost half the couples married here in 2011 were living at the same address before marriages.

It was also shown that thirty-one per cent of marriages in the city were civil ceremonies. And eighty per cent of marriages featured couples where neither partner had previously married.

The average age of a Londonderry husband was 34.4 and the average age of a Londonderry bride was 32.2.

NISRA also pointed out that Saint Eugene’s Cathedral, Londonderry (48 marriages) had the most weddings of all religious buildings.

Equally, there were 53 civil ceremonies at the Guildhall; 18 civil ceremonies at the Beech Hill Country House Hotel; and 15 civil ceremonies at the Waterfoot Hotel. There was also one religious ceremony at the Beech Hill Country House Hotel.

Whilst 48 per cent of couples in Londonderry were ‘living in sin’ before getting married last year the figure was far higher elsewhere.

NISRA stated: “In North Down Local Government District, 70 per cent of ceremonies were to couples who lived at the same address before marriage, compared to only 31 per cent of ceremonies in Magherafelt Local Government District.

“Similarly, a higher proportion of marriages celebrated in Ballymena Local Government District were civil ceremonies (49 per cent) compared to Strabane (9 per cent) and Omagh (12 per cent) Local Government Districts.”