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Couple commit to getting marriage off on the right track
By Sean O’Riordan

Friday, June 26, 2009

A YOUNG couple will be hoping to get their forthcoming marriage off on the right track.

Majella Foley, from Banteer, and her soon-to-be husband, Kieran Gallagher, a native of Donegal, have chartered a special train to take them and their 200 guests to their wedding tomorrow.

Iarnród Éireann are decorating the railway stations at Killarney and Banteer to mark the nuptials.

The guests will set off on the train from Killarney at 11.45am arriving 45 minutes later at Banteer station, which is just a small walk from the local church.

After the wedding they will have a champagne reception on the platform at Banteer before leaving at 3pm for Killarney where the couple will have their reception at the five-star Malton Hotel.

The idea of chartering the train was Majella’s.

"Having grown up beside Banteer Station it just seemed to make sense to organise a train to carry our guests back to Killarney. It’s very much a big part of Banteer and with such history attached to the railway, there are many stories to be told about it. It was never unusual to open our door to tourists who forgot to get off at Mallow and indeed one or two ended up staying the night at our house," Majella said.

The couple met in London five years ago and got engaged in May 2008.

They now live in Clapham, famous for its major railway junction.

To mark the special occasion Iarnród Éireann is issuing "special commemorative wedding train tickets" which will be presented to the guests as they board the train in Killarney.

Hilary Twomey, Iarnród Éireann district manager in Cork, and Pat O’Sullivan, station manager at Mallow, are hoping to greet Majella and Kieran and their guests at Banteer Station to congratulate them on their wedding.

The couple have chartered three new InterCity carriages for the event and Iarnród Eireann staff are hoping the idea will catch on with other couples.



This story appeared in the printed version of the Irish Examiner Friday, June 26, 2009



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