February 17, 2011
By Staff Reporter
The Knock Marriage Introductions Bureau has just released its 37th annual report, which shows that Irish farmers are unlucky in love, comprising 26.4 percent of applicants last year. Most male applicants were either from Dublin or Galway (10 percent each).
Dublin women were lonelier than their rural counterparts, with 19.6 percent of applicants living in the capital city. “Nurse” was the most commonly cited profession among female applicants (21 percent), followed by “Teacher” (16.8 cent). In all, 2.2 percent of female applicants were from the U.S.A.
One hundred and twenty-one men and 148 women used the Knock Marriage Introductions Bureau in 2004, and 13 couples got married who had met through the service.
Mayo-born priest Fr. Michael Keane set up the Bureau in 1968. Since then, it has been responsible for 835 marriages, 11 engagements and almost 16,000 couplings. The Bureau has initiated almost 47,000 introductions, with over 200 introductions in progress at present.