Hot on the heels of this morning’s announcement that same-sex marriage is now legal in Ireland, the first gay couple to be lawfully wed has come forward to make their long-term relationship legal. Cormac Gollogly and Richard Dowling have been together for 12 years and couldn’t be happier that their partnership is finally being recognized in the eyes of the law.
The Irish Times reports that the two had been planning to get married for two years but had held off hoping that marriage equality would pass before tying the knot. When they became concerned that such legality would be challenged (prolonging the legal battle indefinitely), they stepped into a civil partnership, celebrating their union only weeks before same-sex marriage became law. They returned to South Tipperary, the site of their civil ceremony to make the wedding official.