Ireland Celebrates First Same-Sex Marriage After Historic Legislation

The couple had been engaged for two years.

Image via Benson Kua

After more than 10 years together, Cormac Gollogly proposed to his partner Richard Dowling during a beach trip in Spain. Fearing that marriage equality legislation in their native Ireland might not make it all the way to fruition, they formed a civil partnership in September. However, following the widespread support of the Marriage Act 2015, passed by Ireland’s parliament in October of this year, the couple was finally able to marry:

"It’s great to be the first to do it," Gollogly tells the Irish Times. The couple tied the knot in Tipperary at the HSE Community Care Hospital in Clonmel, according to Mashable. After signing the official register on a hospital trolley, the couple had confirmed their status as the first same-sex couple to be married in Ireland.

The United States made its own historic legislation regarding same-sex marriage earlier this year, a remarkable turning point for the future of equality. Though that decision has been met with sporadic hurdles in the form of conservative publicity stunts (Mike Huckabee, Kim Davis, etc.), it ultimately stands as a resounding vote for the future of equality. Welcome aboard, Ireland.

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