This book focuses on the development of marriage law in Ireland from
1937 to the present day, examining the relevant historical legal
background to changes in the law in the 20th and early 21st centuries.
It draws on legal sources and historical and empirical evidence about
the reality of family life in Ireland, to raise broader questions about
the appropriate role of law in establishing, preserving and developing
inclusive social understandings of marriage. The impact of accurate
empirical data about family life, external international influence and
sustained activism as drivers in achieving meaningful social change is
also evaluated. This original viewpoint highlights the initial
ideological importance of marriage regulation in Ireland and its
connection to national identity in a Catholic country. Historically,
asymmetric social rules concerning marriage allowed those in power to
favour particular religious groups; first the Protestant elite and then
the Roman Catholic majority. Protecting a Catholic idea of marriage was
an important consideration when drafting the founding documents of the
Irish state. Article 41.3.1 of the 1937 Irish Constitution enshrines the
institution of marriage as the only recognised basis for the family and
pledges to protect marriage from 'attack'. This protection has acted
throughout the late 20th and early 21st centuries both as a basis for
liberal judicial development of family law principles and an obstacle to
meaningful statutory modernisation, fossilising a traditional
understanding of marriage as the bedrock of Irish family law. Up until
the end of the 20th century, the state's 'secular' understanding of
marriage was generally inseparable from its acceptance of traditional
Catholic norms. However, the adoption of same-sex marriage in Ireland in
2015 marked a substantial change in traditional attitudes to marriage
and the social role of the family unit. From Catholic Outlook to Modern
State Regulation critically highlights the role played by the ideal of
constitutional protection of marriage and existing legislative
structures in initiating and delaying family law reform.The history and
development of Irish marriage law, since the founding of the Irish
state, has received little critical academic attention and this work
makes a significant contribution to the fields of European family law
and legal history. The book is timely and resonates not only with recent
critical work about the development of Irish family law but also with
broader debates about marriage and the role of state regulation that are
currently taking place in numerous jurisdictions around the world.
