LABOUR TD DOMINIC Hannigan has revealed he got married late last year, travelling to London to wed his partner of over two decades.
The Meath East TD is the first deputy to disclose a same-sex marriage and it comes ahead of a referendum on the issue that is due to take place in May.
“The marriage was just the two of us. Because we were in a civil partnership it was very straightforward, paying four quid and signing some papers,” Hannigan told TheJournal.ie today.
The ceremony took place in London on New Year’s Eve.
Hannigan, 49, has been with his partner, Chris, for over 20 years. He said that the big occasion had been the pair’s civil partnership ceremony in 2013.
“There was no cake or anything. The wedding was a very straightforward exchange of papers. When we had our civil partnership ceremony we did a cake and all that kind of stuff. That was the event if you like.”
Hannigan said he was not tempted to wait and see if the referendum was passed in Ireland saying that “the opportunity arose” and it was “unfortunate that we couldn’t do it here”.
“I would hope that if and when we pass the legislation here it would be easy for anybody in a civil partnership to upgrade to a marriage,” he said.
On Health Minister Leo Varadkar’s decision to go public about his sexuality over the weekend, Hannigan said that he didn’t think the Fine Gael TD had to do it but said it was “excellent” that he had.
“I think it’s an excellent step forward,” he said. ”It’s good in terms of the image it portrays. It sends a good signal out. It’s a positive thing.”
“He’s a very strong role model and it’s good for young people to see that the fact his sexuality isn’t holding him back and I would say he’s done the state some service!”
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
have your say