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Couple celebrate first civil partnership in Ireland

CATHAL DERVAN,

IrishCentral.com Staff Writer

Published Tuesday, April 5, 2011, 8:45 AM

Updated Tuesday, April 5, 2011, 8:45 AM

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Hugh Walsh and partner Barry Dignam will be the first gay couple to have a civil partnership ceremony aside from those who obtained an exemption from the State

Photo by Journal.ie

Barry Dignam and Hugh Walsh will make history today as Ireland’s first official gay wedding couple – and they couldn’t be happier.

Dignam and Walsh, together for the past 17 years, will become the public face of civil partnership in Ireland as the first couple not to require an exemption to celebrate a gay marriage.

New legislation which came into effect on January 1st allows the pair to be married at a Dublin registry office without the need for a court granted exemption to the usual three months notice which couples must give to the General Registrar office.

Six civil partnerships have already been registered with the State but all were subject to an exemption order.

“We feel a certain amount of responsibility that this is a big step which Ireland is taking and that we’re going to be a part of that,” Dignam told the Irish Times before revealing that the historic nature of their union did prompt some soul searching.

“We did have an opportunity to move the date due to the media attention but we felt that we would have been cheating gay people who had been through an awful lot of hardship – those who had been ridiculed and even jailed in the past.”

Gay couples are still denied full marriage rights but Dignam is hopeful that today’s breakthrough will help change legislation in the future.

“This change is a pretty sizeable change although it is a pity it’s not full marriage,” he added.

“There are those in the gay community who believe strongly that civil partnership does not go far enough.

“They are right as well. Anything which is not equality is not equal.”

Dignam also told the Times that the majority of people he has met are fully supportive of today’s civil service.

He continued: “Soon, hopefully, the people throwing stones will simply run out of targets.”

The Department of Social Protection has told the Irish Times that up to April 1st the number of couples who had given notice of intention to enter a civil partnership had reached 267.

The Gay and Lesbian Equality Network (Glen) estimates that there could be up to 1,000 same-sex relationships from 27 overseas jurisdictions which received recognition in Ireland as and from January 13th, 2011.

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12 Comments

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eamonnandcarol | Apr 21, 2011, 06:41 PM EDT

It's about time !

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DanOLoingsigh | Apr 09, 2011, 04:42 PM EDT

The island of Ireland is a geographic entity. The Irish Constitution provides that the name of the State is Éire or in the English language, Ireland. The Republic of Ireland Act of 1948 provides for the DESCRIPTION of the State as the Republic of Ireland but this provision has not changed the use of ‘Ireland’ as the name of the State in English. From 2007, the formal name at EU meetings is ‘Eire Ireland'. Northern Ireland is a constituent part of the United Kingdom, dating from the Act of Union in 1800. The ‘Six Counties’ is generally use by republicans as a ‘put down’, as is the opposing ‘Free State’ used by loyalists. Republicans are often seen as an extreme form of nationalist and Loyalists as an extreme form of unionist. Confused…join the club!!!

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cunningcelt | Apr 07, 2011, 12:02 PM EDT

citizen69 said "Actually Ireland's first gay civil partnership was in Belfast some years ago." This is correct. Furthermore, they are recognised under law drafted in the 26 counties. Anyone born in the six counties can apply for their Irish passport. The temporary jurisdictional distinction does not change that one iota. As for this being the first civil partnership under new Irish law allowing them to get hitched without a court exemption is misleading. All these ceremonies were permitted for the first time under the new law The first partnerships happened in February. This is the first that the internationally visible media had noticed. The legislation requires that 3 month notification be given. So, therefore the media were expecting the first ceremony in April. However, the law provides exemption from the 3 month waiting period provided court approval is granted. 6 such exemptions were granted. The first ceremony was early in February, and noticed by the Examiner. The third had a photospread in The Irish Mail on Sunday. It had be erroneously stated in the papers that these earlier ceremonies were in private or even secret. All civil partership under the legislation must be in a registered public venue [an exemption may be granted to this also by the court - but did not happen in the first 6 cases] In any event, as the first publicised ceremony under the new Irish law, it was great to see Hugh & Barry on primetime television. With a proposed referendum being talked about marriage may be in the not to distant future. As to those from the 6 counties, I hope their partnerships are still flurishing.

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JimMcGarity | Apr 06, 2011, 11:16 PM EDT

A dark day

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jacersagain | Apr 06, 2011, 06:48 PM EDT

It is great that legal recognition of partnership is at last being given in Ireland to people like Hugh and Barry, two self-professed Gay men. I hope also that similar legal partnership recognition will be availed of by Lesbians, as surely it will. The sad reality is that neither kind will ever achieve marriage in its true human sense. There are 21 other classes of people, apart from those classifying themselves as Gays and Lesbians, now recognised as being apart from ‘normal’ men and ‘normal’ woman. One of the 21 other classes that’s new to many is ‘Neutrois’. Google or Bing one American’s website for ‘Gender Bender Moonbattery’ for more info. What is our world coming to, or heading into if 23 classifications of ‘non-normal’ people overcome the two basic ones? ... Meantime, I wish people like Hugh and Barry every comfort of worldly, legal and personal happiness together – today is a great day for their civil liberties.

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Gearoid4 | Apr 06, 2011, 05:45 PM EDT

Well said, Citizen. Like Alice in 'Alice Through The Looking Glass', people use words to mean what they want them to mean. Ditto for the use of terminology regarding Ireland. Does 'Ireland' cover the territory of the Rep of Ireland or the whole Island? I get peeved when you see government announcements or press releases state 'Ireland and Northern Ireland'. Illogical or what.

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mamaginnty | Apr 05, 2011, 06:57 PM EDT

oops forgot to wish this couple the very best wishes for the future. was busy confusing myself as well as citizen69

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mamaginnty | Apr 05, 2011, 06:53 PM EDT

citizen69 actually mail I receive is not addressed as R.O.I just Ireland. When I send mail to the northen part of Ireland it is marked as the U.K. Also when getting goods mailed to me from the U.K I am told the postage differance is because we are in europe, if I get the goods sent to a freind in northern Ireland I am told that is the U.K. so postage is cheaper. can get a bit confusing.

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citizen69 | Apr 05, 2011, 04:15 PM EDT

Actually Ireland's first gay civil partnership was in Belfast some years ago. I think what you mean is this is the first gay civil partnership in the Republic of Ireland. If you are going to say Ireland then please make sure you are referring to the whole island. If not then please differentiate between the Republic of Ireland & Northern Ireland. You are supposed to be journalists after all.

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Liamkeyes | Apr 05, 2011, 01:53 PM EDT

No Comment.

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CitizenWhy | Apr 05, 2011, 10:21 AM EDT

Mosel Tov. God Bless. More power to you. Keep up the good relationship.

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olovely | Apr 05, 2011, 09:17 AM EDT

If they've been a couple for 17 years then they're as good as married frankly, so the government should recognize that fact and give them the equal treatment they ask for and deserve really.

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