Civil partners Cormac Gollogly and
Richard Dowling on Tuesday became Ireland's first gay couple to marry
as a new marriage law took effect on Tuesday.
The men exchanged vows in Clonmel, the
county town of County Tipperary, at 8:30 in the morning, the Irish
Times reported.
The men, both 35 and together 12 years,
entered a civil partnership in September.
In May, Ireland became the first nation
to legalize civil marriage for gay couples by a popular vote.
Gollogly and Dowling said that they
decided to proceed with their civil partnership, which they had
planned several months earlier, because they had concerns that the
new marriage law might face legal challenges and not take effect as
planned.
Couples in a civil partnership can
forgo a mandatory three month waiting period and marry in as little
as 24 hours.
Mary-Claire Heffernan, senior registrar
for Tipperary County, pronounced the men husband and husband.
Dowling told media gathered at the
ceremony that marrying “means the world” to him and his new
husband.