Court challenge will delay same-sex marriages in Ireland

Jul 8, 2015

A legal challenge on the outcome of the Irish same-sex marriage referendum means that gay marriages could be held off until next year.

Two men are appealing against the referendum result in Ireland’s Court of Appeal and the case may progress as far as the Supreme Court.

A senior official in the Irish Government said: “Our hands are tied. We are at the mercy of the courts.”

The Government had hoped to get the marriage redefinition wheels turning by Christmas but admitted that “it looks like we are a long way from that point”.

A source for the Irish Times said the court system is backed up with a number of cases and predicted “months” of delay: “The Children’s Referendum was delayed by almost two years. We could potentially be looking at something similar. It is unlikely it will last this long but it cannot be ruled out.”

We’ll need to wait and see what happens.