Reaction:Dr Katherine Zappone and Dr Ann Louise Gilligan yesterday expressed disappointment at the High Court ruling, saying they were the "only type of human beings whose right to marry the person they choose to love is not recognised".
On the steps of the Four Courts, Dr Zappone, a public policy consultant, and Dr Gilligan, an academic, said they would study the 138-page ruling before deciding whether to appeal.
Dr Zappone said: "It's simple. Ann Louise and I adore one another. For 25 years we have lived in a faithful, committed, joyful partnership. For three years we have been a married couple.
"In our case we put forward legal arguments based on human rights norms in the Irish Constitution . . . We took the case because we requested that the human right to marry is simply extended to us.
"We believe that Ireland will be a land of justice and equality for all human beings. We believe that the Irish Constitution does protect and promote our rights - as it does all others."
The Irish Council for Civil Liberties also expressed disappointment and said the court had missed an opportunity to place equality considerations ahead of a vision of marriage that was "grounded in the past".
The council's director, Mark Kelly, said: "The judgment only serves to highlight the urgent need for constitutional change to recognise that, in modern-day Ireland, everyone who so wishes should have the right to marry and found a family, regardless of their sexual identity or orientation."