Seamus' wedding

When you tell someone that you’re going to a wedding in Ireland their immediate response always seems to be something along the lines of, “I bet there’ll be plenty of drinking.” However, such a prejudiced (dare I say borderline racist) comment does not do justice to the whole wedding experience we enjoyed last weekend.

We laughed, we danced we chanced upon the Miss Mayo beauty contest and we met up with relatives we hadn’t seen for decades. I was actually told that I hadn’t changed a bit in ten years; - good old ‘Just for Men’. Gill and I even walked into the middle of a political rally held by the leader of the opposition in the Irish parliament (it’s a guy called Enda Kenny if you’re interested). At one point we were trapped directly behind him while he went around pressing the flesh. We couldn’t get by because of the crowds and we were so well dressed for the wedding I think people just thought we were part of the entourage. As a result me and the missus must have turned up in the backgroundof numerous photos and news bulletins bewildered and grinning like goons.

The wedding itself was beautiful and we were even early for once. My first cousin had decided to tie the knot with his long time girlfriend at the cathedral at Ballina. The cathedral looked lovely and all the singing was performed excellently by one soloist. After the ceremony we moved en masse to the Downhill hotel for the rest of the festivities. The actual meal was delayed slightly while the groom watched the cup final. It will come as no surprise to learn that Gill met someone she knew; this time it was a girl she'd done teacher training with (how does this keep happening?). There was a little mix up with places and tables but the meal and the speeches were first rate. Afterwards there was a show band followed by a disco accompanied by the requisite amount of yeehahing.

So when the next person comments that because the wedding was in Ireland it must have been some kind of alcohol soaked ho down I’ll point out all of the above. I suppose I could also mention the fact that it didn’t end until five in the morning and the bar was still open even then.