Ellen Coyne: Even in modern 2024 Ireland, a stigma against families formed outside of marriage still exists

'Marriage is almost always praised for how difficult it is to escape.' Photo: Getty Images

Ellen Coyne

It’s wise to have true love, in order to have a marriage. But it’s not necessary to have a marriage, in order to experience true love.

When I was being booked into the maternity hospital to have my baby in 2021, I was required to fill out a presumptuous little form which asked me “when” I had gotten married. I was surprised by the sting it left.