What were "certificates of marriage" used for in the 1840s, and when were they issued?
I ask as I have noticed what could be be my great-great-grandfather's marriage listed in a "register of certificates of marriage" in the Ferns parish registers - the time and place are correct for this. On the other hand, I can think that this might be a certificate for a completely different marriage that could have occurred decades earlier?
In either case, there is a two page list, that is separate from, and precedes the main register of marriages. Note that the marriage of interest is NOT included in the main registers, even though the date (1842) is covered by said registers...
Here is a link for the first of the two pages in question,
http://registers.nli.ie/registers/vtls000634066#page/151
