The conclusion highlights the shared moral terrain between the majority of faiths on the island of Ireland which pertained throughout much of the history of Irish divorce. Despite the lack of legislative progress pertaining to Irish divorce from the mid-nineteenth century, the grounds for Irish divorce were not inert. Attitudinal changes towards marriage, marital cruelty, husbands’ superiority, wifely endurance and a reassessment of the role of church and state in individual lives collectively led to divorce reform. However, divorce was never easy and its cost was rarely solely financial. With mooted divorce law reform in both the UK and the Republic of Ireland in 2019, the controversy of divorce, so evident throughout its long history, may re-emerge. Yet, only divorce affords the means for a permanent release from the bonds of marriage and a subsequent union, options which were too long denied to many of Ireland’s citizens.