In keeping with tradition, an engaged couple was blessed at the Shrine of Saint Valentine at the Whitefriar Street Church in Dublin on Tuesday.
Recently engaged couple Leona Gallagher from Derry and Paul McNulty from Dublin, received a blessing from Bishop Denis Nulty at the church on Tuesday.
They said they were delighted to take part in the event because of their strong Catholic faith and belief in the importance of marriage.
“We both come from very religious backgrounds, and we were both brought up in the Catholic Church so we jumped at the chance. It was a lovely idea to get the ring blessed by the bishop coming towards Valentine’s day”.
Leona said they would celebrate Valentine’s day by holding their engagement party in Dublin on Saturday.
She said it was “very important” they have a church wedding and added“I don’t even think we considered anything else”.
The blessing was held at the launch of Amárach research entitled “The Meaning of Marriage” which shows changes in how Irish people think about marriage and the family.
The survey, carried out for Catholic counselling service Accord found one third (32 per cent) of people think that “couples who have children ought to be married”.
This is down from 46 per cent of those surveyed in 2006 about the same issue.
The survey showed that 65 per cent of people agreed that “a child is more likely to grow up happy if raised in a home with a loving mother and father”.
A new question to this year’s survey asked: “Do you agree or disagree that a child is more likely to grow up happy if raised in a home with a loving mother and father?”
Some 65 per cent of respondents said they agreed, with men, people aged over 55 and those with children more likely to “strongly agree”with this statement.
Half or 51 per cent of those surveyed said most married couples they knew had “happy healthy marriages”, compared to 60 per cent of those surveyed in 2006.
While 54 per cent disagreed that marriage as an institution is “old-fashioned or outmoded”, this was down from 64 per cent in 2006.
Some 64 per cent believed couples should live together first in order to decide if they would suit being married – compared to 67 per cent in 2006.
More people consider marriage a life-long commitment (61 per cent) compared to 56 per cent in 2006. Accord said this view is particularly strong among young people aged 25 to 34 years.
Commenting on the survey, the Bishop of Kildare and Leighlin, Dr Denis Nulty, said it was of “vital importance to society that the definition of marriage is protected, sustained and supported”.