Two in five couples who got married last year opted for a Catholic ceremony, figures from the Central Statistics Office show.

Among mixed-sex couples, Catholic ceremonies were chosen by 42pc (or 9,376), followed by a civil ceremony at 5,767 or 26pc.

The popularity of these two forms of ceremonies has been in decline since 2014, when they accounted for 87% of all marriage ceremonies.

Humanist ceremonies accounted for 9% or 2,053 of all opposite-sex marriages and 17% or 104 of all same-sex marriages in 2022.

Data showed there were 23,173 legal unions during 2022, a rise of 35 per cent on the previous year, when lockdowns and other Covid restrictions were still in force.