WATCH: 'Wonderful day' as first same-sex couple marry following law change

by Q Radio News

The first same-sex couple to transform their civil partnership into a marriage have said it is a wonderful day.

Cara McCann and Amanda McGurk celebrated on the steps of Belfast City Hall.

Couples in more than 1,300 same-sex civil partnerships can tie the knot in Northern Ireland from Monday.

Ms McCann said: “We fought long and hard for the right to marry.”

Amanda McGurk (left) and Cara McCann outside Belfast City Hall

She added: “We want to thank everyone who was part of this great movement for love and equality, and which has delivered this wonderful, positive change for our society.”

It followed a lengthy campaign and legislative change at Westminster while Stormont powersharing was suspended.

Over 1,300 couples here can now benefit from the change in law which changes today (Monday).

17 couples are expected to convert their civil partnerships to marriages later.

Clare Lenaghan is a Matrimonial lawyer with Belfast law firm Millar McCall Wylie and she welcomed the news.

She said: “This upcoming regulatory change will see Northern Ireland finally catching up with its neighbours across the rest of the UK and the Republic of Ireland in relation to marriage equality – this is undoubtedly a welcome and hugely important change."

Meanwhile, as a gesture of support, Finance Minister Conor Murphy has waived the conversion fee for couples for the next year. He said 32 couples planned to convert their civil partnerships this week.

Regulations were brought to Parliament back in October to allow changes to take place from today.

Same sex marriage was legally recognised in Northern Ireland on 13 January through the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) and Civil Partnership (Opposite Sex Couples) (Northern Ireland) Regulations 2019.

Couples who had already sought a civil partnership were originally excluded from the reforms.

Ms McCann said she and Ms McGurk had been part of the Love Equality campaign for many years.

“It is just surreal that this day has come and we feel so much more equal and valued today once we received our marriage certificate,” she said.

“Marriage is universal, everyone across the globe knows what a marriage is.

“We grew up not saying, ‘I cannot wait to get a civil partnership’, we grew up saying, ‘I cannot wait to get married’.”

She said their campaign had been a positive one from the outset, encouraging conversations around and greater visibility of LGBTQ+ issues.

“This is the final piece in the jigsaw of the marriage equality campaign and I think Northern Ireland is definitely a different place today,” she added.

Ms McGurk said it was an “absolutely wonderful” occasion.

“I do not think we ever thought this day was going to come in our time,” she added.

“We have been campaigning and hoping for this day for many, many years and are delighted to be the first.”