It could have been a summer’s day except that the temperature was somewhat lower. There was not a puff of air to blow dresses or flowers. Everything was just still in the old country churchyard of Knockanore, Co Waterford. It was 28 December; the day Aisling Lonergan would marry Gerard Brennan, the Dublin footballer. Ger is much more than a Dublin footballer but his prowess on the GAA field is what has made him recognisable to us. For many years now, we’ve known that Aisling was dating Ger and kept an eye on him when he was lining out for Dublin or his home club St Vincent’s.

FAMILY CONNECTIONS

My mother’s sister, my aunt, Gretta Power is Aisling’s beloved Granny and the GAA connection that her granddaughter was embarking on in her married life must delight her.

Gretta’s late husband, Ned Power, the famous Waterford goalie, made sure that the GAA was a huge part of their lives. He won an All-Ireland hurling medal with Waterford in 1959 and gave his life to training young and old in the correct techniques of hurling. Ned was the first person I heard talking about the value of the skills and discipline of hurling being transferred to how people lived their lives.

That makes Aisling’s mother Patricia my first cousin. We’ve been very close cousins though the years, sharing much in common. Our two families holidayed regularly together, giving us young cousins a grounding in the support and value of the wider family network. Then we both married dairy farmers. Aisling’s father, Eamonn, is also an adept cheesemaker for over 20 years. Knockanore Cheese is now a well established business and brand among the best of cheesemakers.

My role at the wedding was that of cake-maker and assembler. I was making the traditional wedding cake and also assembling wheels of cheese into a cake. The evening before Dad and I took all the paraphernalia to the Fota Island Resort Hotel. I told them that I would look after the assembly when we arrived at the hotel. As we sat in the church waiting for the bridal party, my phone kept ringing. In the end, I answered. It was Patricia Murray, the wedding manager at the hotel. Hurriedly, she asked if I was the Katherine O’Leary who lived near Tower. When I answered “yes”, she told me that she was Patricia Barry who had been one of our babysitters for years. It is such a small little world.

WEDDING CEREMONY

A gentle shuffling noise at the back of the church made us look around to see the radiant bride, Aisling, and her bridesmaids about to come up the aisle. The music began and as the girls thinned out a beautiful bride on her proud father’s arm was revealed. It was a lovely ceremony, conducted by Fr Joe Campbell from Co Westmeath. The spine-tingling moment for me was when Aisling’s sister, Lisa sang the responsorial psalm. It is amazing the talents that family weddings reveal.

Once Mr and Mrs Brennan had exchanged vows and signed papers, we were away to the hotel. As Tim and I left the churchyard and were walking towards our car, a big cattle truck came down the road. It barely managed to squeeze between the two lines of cars. A beaming Michael Murphy, former national dairy chair of the IFA, had the window down for a hearty greeting and an invitation for tea. No matter what water has gone under the bridge of the IFA, we will always be grateful for the firm friendships that have been forged around the country. Alas, there was no time for tea as there were cakes to be assembled.

At the hotel, I was greeted by Patricia Murray, née Barry, with a big welcome and a cup of tea. The final presentation is always the nicest part of making a wedding cake. It was my first time to assemble a cheesecake. The internet provided a lot of ideas but in the end I made it a unique ensemble, setting it off with cut figs, dates and grapes from the English Market. Tim is rather fond of dates and had bought them for Christmas. When he spotted them on the cake, he asked a rhetorical question “are those my dates?” They looked just grand and picked up the colour of the Knockanore Smoked Wheel and lighter Knockanore Cheddar Wheel perfectly.

THE BREAKFAST

It was a lovely wedding and unique as all weddings are. Eamonn spoke beautiful words about his daughter. Throughout the speeches on both sides, there was a lot of talk of black cards, yellow cards and red cards. The best man, Ger’s brother Derek, even gave a red card to the groom! A good night was had by all.

The following morning, Auntie Gretta joined us for breakfast. There was a great menu. Gretta ordered pancakes, Tim ordered kippers and I decided on an omelette. The egg counter was out front. I asked for a tomato and cheese omelette. The chef, Ken, heated the oiled pan, dashed in about a tablespoon of finely chopped tomato, poured on some beaten egg and just moved the pan around, shaking it gently. There were no cooking implements employed so no scratches on the pan. Then he flipped the omelette in confident fashion, added some grated cheese and there was my omelette, scrumptious and gorgeous. That’s a skill I’m going to practice! It could be fun. Marriage is about doing things together, the big, the small, the easy and the difficult, the omelette and the mortgage. It is important to retain your identity too. I wish Aisling and Ger a healthy and happy life together. CL