KAROL SADLEIR, a teacher at The Donahies Community School in Donaghmede, Dublin and the entertainer Paul Harrington were married on June 18th in the chapel on the grounds of Brook Lodge Hotel in Macreddin Village, Co Wicklow by the registrar Colette Hanlon. Mr Harrington won the Eurovision Song Contest in 1994 with Charlie McGettigan with their song Rock'n'Roll Kids, and as listeners to Derek Mooney's show and indeed Playbackon RTÉ Radio 1 last week may have heard, the couple were interviewed within minutes of the ceremony and cajoled into singing a duet on the spot: Afternoon Delight.
The bride is the daughter of Angela and Louis Sadleir, and she grew up in Duleek, Co Meath, with her sister Leona, who was her bridesmaid, and her brother Paul. She attended Our Lady’s College, Greenhills, Drogheda and has a BA in Religious Science from the Mater Dei Institute in Dublin, an MA in Film Production from DIT, and is presently studying for an MA in Career Guidance and Counselling
at DCU. She teaches English and religion.
Paul is the youngest of five sons and one daughter of the late Joe and Eileen Harrington and grew up in Killester, Dublin. He was educated at O’Connells School in North Circular Road “as were Jim and Peter Sheridan, Pat Kenny and Bill Cullen to name but a few”. His musical career began on a piano that his mother bought for £10 for his sister Siobhan. Much more recently, he released a CD in May 2008, and has another album due out in September.
The couple met in Karol’s school, where Paul was asked to be one of the judges for a talent show. They met again in May 2008 through a mutual friend and teacher at the school, Bernie Bourke. “Paul asked me out for his birthday, on May 13th, and within a week we discussed marriage. On the 08/08/08, in Sorrento, we got engaged,” says Karol.
The ceremony was punctuated by a number of highlights: Daniel Harrington, Paul's son from his first marriage, who is studying law at Trinity College, read Begin, by Brendan Kennelly. Paul's older brother, Richard Harrington, sang Moon River. Bernie Bourke read the sonnet Shall I compare thee to a summer's day. Kyron Bourke sang What a Wonderful World and Helen Barden read M y Love is like a Red Red Rose. There was hardly a dry eye in the house, Paul remembers of a day that served as a great celebration for his family.
Speeches were memorable, too, made by Gerry Sexton, Paul’s best man and a friend since childhood, and Leona Sadleir, the bride’s sister. Music was provided by Sephira and later Conor McKeon and the Legends of Swing got everyone dancing.
Special guests included Shay and Dymphna Healy, composer Ronan and Helen Hardiman, Robert Dogget of the Trocadero restaurant, and Paul and Lisa Fitzpatrick.
The evening after the wedding, the couple went to Whitefriars’ Street Church for a blessing by Fr David Weakliam. They went to New York for their honeymoon, where they stayed at Fitzpatrick’s Hotel and were heading off to Patsy’s Restaurant, one of Frank Sinatra’s favourite haunts.
They live in Drogheda but are planning a move to Dublin.