Ireland just has had its first same-sex marriage ceremony

This summer Ireland became the first country in the world to legalise same-sex marriage via a public vote, a decision that was met with a jubilation.

An unsuccessful legal challenge delayed implementation of the bill, but wedding season has finally arrived: from this week it's now legal for same-sex couples to get married all over the Emerald Isle.

Richard Dowling (L) and Cormac Gollogly (R), who have been together for 12 years and engaged for five, became the first gay couple to tie the knot in Clonmel in County Tipperary on Tuesday.

Dowling, 35, told the Irish Times:

We are really delighted to be able to do it. Having a full marriage was important to us so now we can relax and get old together.

The wedding registrar who pronounced the pair husband and husband confirmed to the paper that they were the first same-sex marriage in the whole country.

While marriages require a three-month notice period in Ireland, people with foreign marriages or civil partnerships like Richard and Cormac were allowed to convert them immediately. The couple donned suits for their big day - and some sharp socks.

While anyone registering to marry must give three months' notice, foreign marriages between gay couples became recognised on Monday and those joined in civil partnership under a 2009 law, like Dowling and Gollogly, were able to marry immediately.

Congratulations, Richard and Cormac!

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