Help please - marriages Catholic parish records

Hi. When browsing through the parish records for marriages I came across a possible ancestor's name with the following entry -

"A certificate to Michael Meagher"

I notice there aremanysimilar entries with the same notation. What does this mean - is it referring to the certificate being issued some time after the event, and if so how long before this date would the marriage have taken place? Or am I barking up the wrong tree altogether?

Thanks, Col