Love can blossom in the most unexpected places – at the races, at a dance, or even on a campsite! For these three rural couples, shared interests and similar backgrounds brought them together and love endured.
Childhood sweethearts
Kildare natives Emma Birchall (28) and David Kelly (30) have been happily married for 17 months, having tied the knot on 8 September 2023. They live on David’s family farm in Nurney, Co Kildare, where David works full-time as a beef, sheep, and tillage farmer. Emma, who grew up on a dairy farm, is now a GP.
The couple first met in 2015, just as Emma was about to turn 19. “Neither of us had been in a relationship before,” Emma says. “I was going to the races in Punchestown with my best friend from school, Shane. I was repeating my Leaving Cert.
“I met up with Shane and he had told David that he had someone he wanted him to meet, so I got him to come to the races. So it was all Shane,” says Emma, laughing.
Now, 10 years after that first meeting, Emma and David are preparing to welcome their first child in March. Their wedding day in Kilcullen, Co Kildare was memorable. “We got married in my local church,” Emma recalls. “It was absolutely roasting—the hottest day of the year! The whole week had been warm, but that Friday was the hottest.”
Emma says that shared interests have been key to keeping the relationship successful over the years, including during periods of long distance when David was studying in Dublin and Emma was in Cork.
“We have similar interests and we come from very similar backgrounds. We both are quite busy with our jobs but we always try to make time for each other as well,” she says.
Quickly after they started going out, David introduced Emma to Macra na Feirme, a shared pastime that the couple enjoy together.
“We’re both heavily involved in South Kildare Macra but I suppose the fact that the two of us are doing it together is a big benefit, and we probably get to spend a bit more time with each other, as our pastimes are the same.”
Although they come from similar farming backgrounds, Emma says that they have quite different personalities.
“David is calm and cool and relaxed, and I would be more stubborn and stuff like that,” Emma says. “We balance each other out well.”
What is Emma’s advice for young people in rural Ireland looking to date? “Just be yourself and don’t change for anyone. You’ll find someone that suits you, someone will like you for who you are.”
– Rosalind Skillen
Emma Birchall and her husband David pictured on their wedding day in Kilcullen, Co Kildare.
Love at first sight
It was love at first sight for PJ Glynn when he spotted Majella Ryan in the Bridge House Hotel, Tullamore, at a dance where Gina Dale Haze and the Champions were the musical headliners on 30 November, 1986.
Their first date was two weeks later at the P&T dinner dance in the Prince of Wales in Athlone, and PJ says they never looked back after that.
He recalled their first Valentine’s Day in 1987, boarding the ‘Love Train’ from Dublin to Cork to go to see the legendary Joe Dolan in The Metropole Hotel.
“I was a great fan of Joe Dolan. I went to see him everywhere around the country. Anything within 100 miles,” says PJ, the current chairperson of Athlone Agri Show. “He had a unique voice and was a great character.”
Just over a year after meeting, the pair got engaged on 18 December 1987, in Dublin, where Majella worked in the Guardian Royal Exchange Insurance head office in St Stephen’s Green.
Both families got together for “a lovely occasion” at Majella’s home place in Abbeyleix, Co Laois, the night after their engagement to celebrate with the couple, both of whom shared a farming background.
The pair were married on what PJ describes as a “special day” on 8 September 1989 in Knock Church, Abbeyleix, Co Laois before a reception in the Castle Arms Hotel, Durrow. After a two-week honeymoon in Crete, the pair set up home on PJ’s family farm at Crannaghmore, just outside Athlone.
When asked the secret to a long and healthy marriage, PJ says he believes “couples need a lot of things in common where they share the same interests” and enjoy spending time together.
For Majella and PJ, this revolves around horses and shows. He says they are lucky that the family is interested in all things equine, and they spend much of the year going to agricultural shows up and down the country every weekend.
“Majella and I bought our first mare in 1990 to show, and we are showing horses ever since,” he recalls.
In 1993, PJ took over the family farm combining it with his full-time job in Telecom Éireann, now eir, concentrating on beef and equine.
He and Majella have three adult children; sons Darragh, who is deputy principal in St Joseph’s Rochfortbridge, and Lorcan, who works in the Department of Agriculture in Kildare.
Their daughter, Melissa, who heads up the extensive equine section in the Athlone Agri Show, is a primary school teacher in St Coman’s Wood in Roscommon. All three are still involved with the family farm and equine matters.
With both Darragh and Melissa due to get married this summer, what is PJ’s advice for young couples? “Share all your joy and troubles together,” he replies succinctly.
– Deirdre Verney
PJ and Majella Glynn on their wedding day in Abbeyleix, Co Laois back in 1989.
Finding balance
Co Meath is home for Tom and Breda Gibney, who will celebrate their 40th wedding anniversary next year.
“We met in Wexford in August 1979 through mutual friends from an athletic club while camping in Curracloe. Tom volunteered to set up our tent, and the rest is history,” says Breda.
The couple got married in June 1986 in St Isidore’s Church in Rome.
“It was a tiny, beautiful church close to the Spanish Steps – with only the priest, organist and photographer present.
“We celebrated with our families in Moyglare Manor Hotel before we left for Rome,” recalls Breda.
The key to creating a happy home and sustainable business for them has been their love of nature.
“Working together in our garden and producing the food that we planted together gave us a yearly time clock that we adhere to even to this day,” she says.
The natural time clock gave them a dependence on each other, which brought them through the thick and thin of any issues that arose.
“We find that nature can produce a calmness in us simply by climbing a mountain, walking the dog, watching the seasons approach, and planning the next year’s crop.
“Honesty, openness, kindness, and thoughtfulness are essential,” she tells Irish Country Living.
The couple has enjoyed many holidays travelling in Europe in their Volkswagen camper van and boating on the Shannon.
“As Breda is from Kerry, we purchased a small farmhouse there some years ago, which is where we go to recharge the batteries.
“We planted an orchard with old Irish varieties of apple trees, and to this day we continue to plant many varieties of native Irish trees,” says Tom.
For anyone in search of Mr or Ms Right, the couple’s advice is to let your instinct and shared interests guide you.
“Take time to build trust and be comfortable in each other’s company accepting the fact that differences may surface from time to time,” says Breda.
The pair work well together either from their home in Garradice, Co Meath or their hideaway in Kerry.
“Our most recent venture together is our small but rewarding sustainable business with Irish wool products (Greenerme/Baavet baavet.ie).”
Items for sale include bedding, blankets and baby accessories. “Tom spent several years putting together the nuts and bolts of the business while I carried on in my career [in adult education in Maynooth University] until I joined him,” says Breda.
– Sarah McIntosh
Tom and Breda Gibney on their wedding day in Rome.
Love can blossom in the most unexpected places – at the races, at a dance, or even on a campsite! For these three rural couples, shared interests and similar backgrounds brought them together and love endured.
Childhood sweethearts
Kildare natives Emma Birchall (28) and David Kelly (30) have been happily married for 17 months, having tied the knot on 8 September 2023. They live on David’s family farm in Nurney, Co Kildare, where David works full-time as a beef, sheep, and tillage farmer. Emma, who grew up on a dairy farm, is now a GP.
The couple first met in 2015, just as Emma was about to turn 19. “Neither of us had been in a relationship before,” Emma says. “I was going to the races in Punchestown with my best friend from school, Shane. I was repeating my Leaving Cert.
“I met up with Shane and he had told David that he had someone he wanted him to meet, so I got him to come to the races. So it was all Shane,” says Emma, laughing.
Now, 10 years after that first meeting, Emma and David are preparing to welcome their first child in March. Their wedding day in Kilcullen, Co Kildare was memorable. “We got married in my local church,” Emma recalls. “It was absolutely roasting—the hottest day of the year! The whole week had been warm, but that Friday was the hottest.”
Emma says that shared interests have been key to keeping the relationship successful over the years, including during periods of long distance when David was studying in Dublin and Emma was in Cork.
“We have similar interests and we come from very similar backgrounds. We both are quite busy with our jobs but we always try to make time for each other as well,” she says.
Quickly after they started going out, David introduced Emma to Macra na Feirme, a shared pastime that the couple enjoy together.
“We’re both heavily involved in South Kildare Macra but I suppose the fact that the two of us are doing it together is a big benefit, and we probably get to spend a bit more time with each other, as our pastimes are the same.”
Although they come from similar farming backgrounds, Emma says that they have quite different personalities.
“David is calm and cool and relaxed, and I would be more stubborn and stuff like that,” Emma says. “We balance each other out well.”
What is Emma’s advice for young people in rural Ireland looking to date? “Just be yourself and don’t change for anyone. You’ll find someone that suits you, someone will like you for who you are.”
– Rosalind Skillen
Emma Birchall and her husband David pictured on their wedding day in Kilcullen, Co Kildare.
Love at first sight
It was love at first sight for PJ Glynn when he spotted Majella Ryan in the Bridge House Hotel, Tullamore, at a dance where Gina Dale Haze and the Champions were the musical headliners on 30 November, 1986.
Their first date was two weeks later at the P&T dinner dance in the Prince of Wales in Athlone, and PJ says they never looked back after that.
He recalled their first Valentine’s Day in 1987, boarding the ‘Love Train’ from Dublin to Cork to go to see the legendary Joe Dolan in The Metropole Hotel.
“I was a great fan of Joe Dolan. I went to see him everywhere around the country. Anything within 100 miles,” says PJ, the current chairperson of Athlone Agri Show. “He had a unique voice and was a great character.”
Just over a year after meeting, the pair got engaged on 18 December 1987, in Dublin, where Majella worked in the Guardian Royal Exchange Insurance head office in St Stephen’s Green.
Both families got together for “a lovely occasion” at Majella’s home place in Abbeyleix, Co Laois, the night after their engagement to celebrate with the couple, both of whom shared a farming background.
The pair were married on what PJ describes as a “special day” on 8 September 1989 in Knock Church, Abbeyleix, Co Laois before a reception in the Castle Arms Hotel, Durrow. After a two-week honeymoon in Crete, the pair set up home on PJ’s family farm at Crannaghmore, just outside Athlone.
When asked the secret to a long and healthy marriage, PJ says he believes “couples need a lot of things in common where they share the same interests” and enjoy spending time together.
For Majella and PJ, this revolves around horses and shows. He says they are lucky that the family is interested in all things equine, and they spend much of the year going to agricultural shows up and down the country every weekend.
“Majella and I bought our first mare in 1990 to show, and we are showing horses ever since,” he recalls.
In 1993, PJ took over the family farm combining it with his full-time job in Telecom Éireann, now eir, concentrating on beef and equine.
He and Majella have three adult children; sons Darragh, who is deputy principal in St Joseph’s Rochfortbridge, and Lorcan, who works in the Department of Agriculture in Kildare.
Their daughter, Melissa, who heads up the extensive equine section in the Athlone Agri Show, is a primary school teacher in St Coman’s Wood in Roscommon. All three are still involved with the family farm and equine matters.
With both Darragh and Melissa due to get married this summer, what is PJ’s advice for young couples? “Share all your joy and troubles together,” he replies succinctly.
– Deirdre Verney
PJ and Majella Glynn on their wedding day in Abbeyleix, Co Laois back in 1989.
Finding balance
Co Meath is home for Tom and Breda Gibney, who will celebrate their 40th wedding anniversary next year.
“We met in Wexford in August 1979 through mutual friends from an athletic club while camping in Curracloe. Tom volunteered to set up our tent, and the rest is history,” says Breda.
The couple got married in June 1986 in St Isidore’s Church in Rome.
“It was a tiny, beautiful church close to the Spanish Steps – with only the priest, organist and photographer present.
“We celebrated with our families in Moyglare Manor Hotel before we left for Rome,” recalls Breda.
The key to creating a happy home and sustainable business for them has been their love of nature.
“Working together in our garden and producing the food that we planted together gave us a yearly time clock that we adhere to even to this day,” she says.
The natural time clock gave them a dependence on each other, which brought them through the thick and thin of any issues that arose.
“We find that nature can produce a calmness in us simply by climbing a mountain, walking the dog, watching the seasons approach, and planning the next year’s crop.
“Honesty, openness, kindness, and thoughtfulness are essential,” she tells Irish Country Living.
The couple has enjoyed many holidays travelling in Europe in their Volkswagen camper van and boating on the Shannon.
“As Breda is from Kerry, we purchased a small farmhouse there some years ago, which is where we go to recharge the batteries.
“We planted an orchard with old Irish varieties of apple trees, and to this day we continue to plant many varieties of native Irish trees,” says Tom.
For anyone in search of Mr or Ms Right, the couple’s advice is to let your instinct and shared interests guide you.
“Take time to build trust and be comfortable in each other’s company accepting the fact that differences may surface from time to time,” says Breda.
The pair work well together either from their home in Garradice, Co Meath or their hideaway in Kerry.
“Our most recent venture together is our small but rewarding sustainable business with Irish wool products (Greenerme/Baavet baavet.ie).”
Items for sale include bedding, blankets and baby accessories. “Tom spent several years putting together the nuts and bolts of the business while I carried on in my career [in adult education in Maynooth University] until I joined him,” says Breda.
– Sarah McIntosh
Tom and Breda Gibney on their wedding day in Rome.
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