Reactions were overwhelming. “We have yet to get a single negative response to that story,” Mr. Duffy said.

Support came from unexpected places. Mr. O’Sullivan described taking his husband to light some candles at a Catholic church in the city center over the weekend. A nun, recognizing the two from coverage in the news media, introduced them to a 92-year-old priest and other retired members of the clergy who wanted to congratulate them.

Not that they wanted a church blessing, Mr. O’Sullivan confided. “Matt isn’t that religious,” he said. “He’s actually a Protestant. He just likes lighting candles in Catholic chapels.”

They may not be lovers, but the two men make a nice couple. Mr. Murphy, a slender, dapper man, uses a cane when he walks, with Mr. O’Sullivan solicitously supporting his elbow. While they sat outside a Dublin bar over the weekend so that the elder man could work through the half-pack of cigarettes he still smokes every day, several busy Christmas shoppers recognized them, and some stopped to shake their hands.

Their main concern now, Mr. O’Sullivan said, is that they not be seen to have taken advantage of the hard-fought achievements of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people.

“They fought hard for this right,” he said. “They were brilliant. They got equality for themselves, but also for everybody else, too, including us. We may not be in a sexual relationship, but I’m his carer and his friend.”

And here is another twist in the tale. True, they are not a gay couple, but one of the men is gay. (The Irish news media, the men said, reported that the two are straight and never thought to ask whether one of them is gay.)