+34
Aimee Palmer and Cathal Nolan had their wedding plans thrown into chaos when their booked venue in Athlone closed with immediate effect on Wednesday afternoon. With around 150 guests expected, including family members who had travelled from Australia, the couple faced the prospect of postponing their Friday wedding. Within roughly three hours, however, they secured a new venue at the Salthill Hotel in Galway and arranged a church ceremony, thanks largely to quick phone calls by relatives. The bride's parents and sister had previously held wedding celebrations at the same Galway church.
Nolan’s phone rang at about 3.30pm on Wednesday. It was a staff member from the hotel, confirming the venue was closed with immediate effect.but live in Dublin.
They had chosen Athlone as a midway point. About 150 people were expected to attend the wedding, including loved ones who had flown in from Australia. Man jailed for murder of father of five in Cork golf-club attack“That hour and a half was horrific – just trying to cope with it and then figure out the next steps. ”“Are we still getting married?
Realistically, it could be next year. It could be another two years before we get married. ” After the initial shock wore off, Palmer says, the couple knew they wanted “to get married on Friday no matter what, even if it’s just the church and a meal, or we all come back to our house in Dublin”.
They told the bridal party what had happened and – once everyone realised it wasn’t a joke – people started calling venues in different counties to see if anywhere was available. Aimee Palmer and her husband, Cathal Nolan, got married in Galway. Photograph: Syona Photography Her cousin contacted the Salthill Hotel in Galway and, before long, the venue called her back to say they could host the wedding on Friday.
“It actually felt like a knight in shining armour coming to save us, my shoulders completely dropped,” Palmer says. A church was sorted within five minutes. Nolan’s grandmother Maureen just had to make one phone call.
“That was the easiest part. My granny reads Mass every weekend and does a lot of work in in Galway,” he says.
“My parents got married there in 1988, and then my sister got married there in 2022,” she explains. “So, we were kind of laughing, saying, ‘Look, Aimee, you could have just booked it in the first place if you wanted to end up here, avoiding all this drama. ’”“Honestly, we got the call at 3.30pm and by maybe 6.30pm nearly everything was in place,” Palmer says.
The couple was also able to secure Blackrock Cottage for a day-two celebration and O’Gradys on the Pier for a dinner the night before the wedding, as well as accommodation for their guests. All 153 guests were able to attend as planned. Priests, musicians, and the hair and make-up team all changed plans to make sure they could be there.
The fact that everything worked out so quickly “really felt like” the couple was always supposed to get married in Galway, she adds.
“We had our Child of Prague in training, thinking he’d be in the midlands, but we woke up on Friday morning and the sun was shining over Blackrock. We heard it was raining pretty much everywhere else in the country,” Palmer says. Speaking from their honeymoon in Sorrento, she says the couple was “blown away” by the hospitality shown by the people who stepped up in their “hour of need”.
She says Salthill Hotel, in particular, “couldn’t have done enough for us, they went above and beyond”. Palmer says it felt like “the whole of Galway”, as well as their families and friends, rallied behind them.
“I don’t think we have ever or will ever feel love like we did those past few days. The energy across the whole weekend was something I’d never felt before ...
“We were dealt a very unlucky hand but we feel, coming out of that weekend, that we are the luckiest people. ” A second wedding was due to take place at Glasson Lakehouse last weekend; this couple also found a new venue. It is understood that the luxury hotel will reopen in the coming days. Have your say: Has your child refused to go to school?
Holly Cairns repays €8,500 in expenses mistakenly paid by Oireachtas during maternity leaveGP and elderly mother awarded €12,000 over Dundrum clinic receptionist’s ‘disrespectful’ conductRussia’s ‘hybrid war’ is assassination squads, blowing up trains, arson, says PolandDublin in search of new women’s football manager as joint bosses Paul Casey and Derek Murray step down
Please follow us on Google to support usWedding Venue Closure Athlone Galway Salthill Hotel
Ireland Latest News, Ireland Headlines
Similar News: You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Cyclist uses vacuum cleaner as safety device on Galway roadsA letter writer describes feeling unusually safe cycling in Galway when transporting the appliance to a recycling centre, as protruding handle forced motorists to give wide berth instead of passing dangerously close in urban traffic.
Read more »
Danny Gilligan lands another successful appeal against whip banProlific dual Galway festival winner Timurshah aiming to translate hurdles form to the flat in Navan
Read more »
Ormond Hotel site sold to Irish investors after 13-year ownership sagaMalaysian owners Monteco have sold the Ormond Hotel site at Ormond Quay Upper in Dublin to a group of Irish hotel developers for approximately €12 million. The property, which features in the Sirens chapter of James Joyce's Ulysses, was originally purchased by developer Bernard McNamara in 2006 for €17 million. Monteco acquired it from McNamara in 2013 for about €2.5 million. The sale price represents a multiple of Monteco's investment but remains well below McNamara's original purchase price. The site has planning permission for a 120-bedroom hotel across seven floors with food, beverage, and meeting facilities. CBRE's Alexandra Sheeran called the transaction a significant milestone for the prominent riverside location.
Read more »
Galway Launches Road Safety Strategy with Lower Speed Limits and More CamerasA new road safety strategy for Galway aims to drastically reduce fatalities and injuries by 2030 through lower speed limits, increased camera enforcement, and targeted infrastructure improvements. The plan addresses the disproportionate risk faced by young drivers and the link between high-speed crashes and severe outcomes.
Read more »