Marriage Licence Bonds

You probably know that what you are looking at is an index book, a summary record of diocesan licence bonds. It, and its companion volumes, are all that survive because almost all the original Marriage Licence Bonds were destroyed in 1922 (Four Courts).

The legal process of a marriage required the public announcement of the intended marriage by the reading of Banns. Alternatively a licence could be obtained from the Consistorial Court of the diocese.

The purpose of Banns/Licences was to ensure that the marriage would be valid/legal. Impediments to a marriage could be an existing declaration of marriage to another, a party being under-age, an existing wife/husband and consanguinity. The reason for a public announcement (Banns) was to ensure that any parishioner could allege any of the foregoing. A Licence involved a ‘bond’ i.e. a security contract usually signed by the groom on behalf of both parties , but sometimes also by the intended bride. The document affirmed that the proposed marriage was without impediment and thus would be valid. As part of the process there was a monetary amount fixed – the bond - which would have to be paid by the bondsmen should the affirmation be proven to be false. The bondsmen usually were the groom & a friend and sometimes a member of the bride’s family. The monetary amount usually was relatively high (to deter frauds) but it did not have to be lodged, it simply was a promise to pay.

The bond usually stipulated where the marriage should take place and I’ve seen and English bond where two parishes were named – that of the bride and the groom (where his father was Rector).

An entry in the Index does not always mean that the marriage always took place – I have a kinswoman who appears twice in the MLB’s for Killaloe Diocese in the late 1700’s.

As a rule-of-thumb those who married by licence usually were wealthy and most likely belonged to the Established Church (although some wealthy Catholics and Quakers married by licence). However, licence bonds sometimes were used as a pretence of wealth – in a collateral tree I have two brothers who married two sisters by licence and from subsequent events it would appear that they were broke!

Hermy wrote: »

Ah, so there's a church record as well as the marriage licence bond.

Correct – where there were no Banns the MLB process simply was an integral part of the intended marriage. When (if) the latter took place the event was recorded in the Parish Register. Sadly several hundred of these registers were destroyed in 1922 in the Public Records Office of Ireland. The same conflagration that destroyed the original MLBs.That is why the MLB Index is so useful.
The RCB site has details of what is available by Parish HERE