Bishop Denis Nulty, Bishop of Kildare and Leighlin and President of ACCORD Catholic Marriage Care Service, has blessed engaged couple Ms Deirdre Eighan from Rochfortbridge, Mullingar, and Mr Sean Whelan from Ballinea, Mullingar at the Shrine of Saint Valentine in the Church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Dublin today.
In his words of welcome Bishop Nulty said: “I was so delighted that Deirdre and Sean were the couple whose engagement ring I blessed a few moments ago, over at the Shrine of Saint Valentine. I was very taken by where they first met – in their Repeat Leaving Cert class at Coláiste Mhuire CBS Mullingar – the school where I was chaplain in my first appointment as a priest in Mullingar. I think society is always interested in where a couple meet, where love first blossoms. Society should also be very interested in the key findings of counselling trends that ACCORD are publishing today.”
As part of the event today in Dublin ACCORD published a report on counselling entitled ‘Counselling Trends in Ireland North & South An Amárach Analysis of ACCORD Data 2007 to 2015′. Accord also published (i) a Regional Breakdown of Sacramental Marriage Preparation Attendance and Marriage Counselling Sessions 2012 to 2015, (ii) Sacramental Marriage Preparation – Attendance 2012-2015 and (iii) Marriage & Relationship Counselling 2012-2015. Please see links to all of these documents below.
Commenting on the reports issued today Bishop Denis Nulty said: “A few red line issues stand out for me from these findings; one is that the breakdown of communication continues to be a key problem which leads couples and individuals to need the services and support of ACCORD. We shouldn’t be surprised at this; when a couple stop talking, all they hear is the sound of silence, and this in itself is a huge contributory factor to stress and anxiety in a relationship. The breakdown of communication simply defined as “not listening” or “being ignored”, has sadly increased in its relevance for couples from 48% to 58% in the past nine years.
“It seems to suggest the more communicative devices we have in life, the less communicative we are in our relationships. A good sacramental Marriage Preparation course allows an individual or a couple to identify triggers in their relationship that could lead to a breakdown in communication. Good skills learned on a course will stand to a couple for life.”
Bishop Nulty went on to say: “It is also interesting to note from this Amárach research the increasing high incidence of telecommunications related problems. Texting didn’t even feature as an issue of concern back in 2007; last year 21% of those counselled by ACCORD saw it as an issue of huge concern. Perhaps in time to come the effect of Instagram, Snapchat or tweeting in the relationships of today will become more evident.
“I also want to note how damaging criticisms and insults can be in a relationship – they poison a relationship. It is a great support that an agency like ACCORD, set up by the Catholic Church here in Ireland over fifty years ago, is there to support an individual or a couple who experience such problems.”
Bishop Nulty concluded by saying: “ACCORD is privileged to be trusted by the Irish people to care for marriage and family life through our schools’ work, our marriage preparation courses, our counselling and our personal enrichment courses. We look forward to continuing this service as an agency of the Irish Catholic Bishops’ Conference long into the future.”
Today’s blessing of the engaged couple took place at the Shrine of Saint Valentine where Holy relics of Saint Valentine are interred in the Carmelite Church in Whitefriar Street, Dublin. Saint Valentine, a priest in ancient Rome, is regarded as the patron saint of couples in love, preparing for marriage and of married life. According to tradition, Saint Valentine was martyred on 14 February 250 AD. In 1836 relics that were exhumed from the catacombs of Saint Hippolytus on the Via Tiburtina, near Rome, were identified with Saint Valentine. These relics were placed in a casket, donated by Pope Gregory XVI, and transported to the Whitefriar Street Carmelite Church in Dublin where they continue to be venerated by the faithful to this day.
The ACCORD data in the table and graphs below was compiled from returns recorded by ACCORD centres throughout Ireland, North and South, during 2015. Separately, Counselling Trends in Ireland North & South An Amárach Analysis of ACCORD Data 2007 to 2015 was undertaken by Mr Gerard O’Neill, Chairman of Amárach Research, and it reviews trends in relationship problems as presented by clients attending ACCORD marriage and relationship counselling sessions during this period. Previously, on behalf of ACCORD, Amárach Research has conducted a nationwide face-to-face poll in 2006 regarding attitudes to marriage and family. It undertook a comparative online poll in April 2014 of 1,000 adults. This 2014 survey, entitled The Meaning of Marriage, sought to capture the continuity and/or change in Irish society’s attitude towards marriage and family in the intervening eight years. http://www.catholicbishops.ie/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/ACCORD-Research-briefing-10-February-2015.pdf
- Regional Breakdown of Sacramental Marriage Preparation Attendance and Marriage Counselling Sessions 2012 to 2015
Note: In addition to the above, a further 92 sessions were completed at Central Office in 2012.
Sacramental Marriage Preparation – Attendance 2012-2015
Marriage & Relationship Counselling 2012-2015
- Publication of: Counselling Trends in Ireland North & South An Amárach Analysis of ACCORD Data 2007 to 2015
Click here to download PDF of Counselling Trends in Ireland North & South An Amárach Analysis of ACCORD Data 2007 to 2015
