Legal Age for Marriage in Ireland

[heywood]

Hello Siobhan and welcome 

Is this Daniel’s marriage - it says full age for both parties.

https://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/images/marriage_returns/marriages_1887/10798/5937833.pdf

Heywood

[heywood]

Sorry, Elwyn

I am watching tv at the same time and missed your information re the marriage.

[Wexflyer]

Hello to all who read this.  I am American-Irish researching my maternal grandmother's roots dating back to the 1800's.  I read with interest about boys and girls marrying at the age of 12 and 13.  The records I reviewed on my great, great grandfather reveal he was 13 years old when he married my great, grand grandmother.  YIKES!  To boot, under the age category, girls were called "spinsters" and boys were labeled as "bachelors" - no ages were given on the official church documents.  I would love to hear from anyone who can shed some light on this subject.  I'm assuming it had to do with economics and if anyone has more information about this time period.  My gg grandfather was born in 1873 and married in 1886.  His name was Daniel Bradley and they lived in Kingswilliamtown in County Cork.  Thank you, Siobhan.

I very much doubt this. Can you please point us to the documents showing this? And why do you expect them to be anything other than bachelors or spinsters when they were married? Hardly going to be widows or widowers at the age you allege, are they?

[Wexflyer]

Can anyone enlighten me please?
What was the legal age at which a girl could get married in Ireland in the 1880s/1890s, was it different from England & Wales?

Thanks

H

No idea. Would help if you told us the legal age in England!

[majm]

Can anyone enlighten me please?
What was the legal age at which a girl could get married in Ireland in the 1880s/1890s, was it different from England & Wales?

Thanks

H

No ideal. Would help if you told us the legal age in England!

England & Wales  was 12 for girls and 14 for boys,  until well into 20th Century  ... this has been discussed on  many threads here at Rootschat, perhaps use RChat's search engine 

Add,  and perhaps read the dates on the posts    and read the thread ...



JM

[Wexflyer]

Can anyone enlighten me please?
What was the legal age at which a girl could get married in Ireland in the 1880s/1890s, was it different from England & Wales?

Thanks

H

No ideal. Would help if you told us the legal age in England!

England & Wales  was 12 for girls and 14 for boys,  until well into 20th Century  ... this has been discussed on  many threads here at Rootschat, perhaps use RChat's search engine 

Add,  and perhaps read the dates on the posts    and read the thread ...



JM

The point was that if you are going to ask if XYZ is the same as in England, then it helps to state what XYZ is in England! In this case, what XYZ might happen to be was was never mentioned in this 9 year old thread - until you provided the information just now.

[Sinann]

What ever the legal allowed age if under 21 parents/guardian permission was needed and minor will be marked in the marriage cert.

[heywood]

Siobhan,

I hope we are on the right track with your ancestors. If so this is possibly Daniel and Elizabeth Bradley  in 1911

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1911/Kerry/Millbrook/Ballynahulla/279129/

His age is given as 56 yrs which would give a birth year of abt 1855

Although in 1901, Daniel seems to be Jeremiah 

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1901/Kerry/Millbrook/Ballynahulla/1427479/

[majm]

Here is a live link to one of many threads re legal age for Marriage.

https://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=822013.0

Just to add that the legal age for marriage remained at 14 for boys and 12 for girls in the Republic of Ireland, until 1st January 1975, when it was raised to 16.
From time immemorial the age for matrimonial consent was fixed at 7 years, but puberty was accepted as the age for consummation of the marriage, which was 12 for girls and 14 for boys.
In England and Wales the figures for marriage below the age of 16 from 1846 to when the 1929 Act came into effect are only 35 males and 1,844 females.
Stan

JM