It may be peak week for wedding proposals – but a new study shows Irish men wait longer than most to put a ring on it.
The seven days between Christmas Eve and New Year’s Day is regarded as the most popular period of the calendar for getting down on one knee.
New research released in engagement season by men’s mental health platform Manual shows the average age of grooms in Ireland is one of the oldest in the world, at 33.8 years of age.
The UK is slightly earlier, at 33.4 years, with France, Portugal and Switzerland also falling slightly younger again at the 33-year-old average mark.
According to the results, Ireland falls almost eight years behind India, who have the youngest newlyweds, with an average marriage age of 26. China takes second place with 27.1 years, with Russia in third with 27.4.
The United States, Canada and Mexico are some of the other countries still marrying before 30, with South Africa and France among the nations getting hitched at the average ages of 32 and 33.
Meanwhile, Italians, Spanish and Australian men are taking the most time to commit, with Aussies waiting until the average age of 39.3 to get married today. Worldwide, the current average age of grooms in 2021 is 32.3.
Commenting on the results, Dr Earim Chaudry of Manual said: “Marriage is a symbol of love towards a partner, an important life event that many men remember for the rest of their lives.
“In many countries, we are seeing more and more men marrying in later stages of their life, which may be due to social pressures and priorities changing, especially amongst Western countries.
“There is no perfect age to get married, and men should only do so once they feel ready for the commitment.”
However, many male celebrities from across the globe chose to marry young, including Macaulay Culkin, 19, and David Beckham and Justin Bieber both getting hitched at 24.
Meanwhile, other celebs such as George Clooney married wife Amal at 52, Richard Gere wed aged 69, and Daniel O’Donnell married Majella at 40.
The findings by Manual place are actually lower than the most recent data by our own Central Statistics Office.
CSO figures from 2020 put the average age of a first-time groom at 35.7, with brides not far behind at 34.2. The marriage age has gotten progressively older since the 1970s, when grooms were 26 and brides were 24.
Pandemic restrictions last year meant our marriage rate more than halved, to the lowest of the 27 EU states, at 1.9 per 1,000 population. Our rate in 2019 was 4.1 per 1,000.
By contrast, Cyprus, which topped the list of marriage rates, scored 8.9 per population.
