SINÉAD MAC AODHA and Martin Shiels were married in a bilingual Irish and English service in University Church, St Stephen’s Green on June 26th, by Sinéad’s uncle,
Fr Dan Breen, who had married Sinéad’s late parents, Ita and Breandán, in 1962. He had also married her late Aunt Peggy and Uncle Roddy in the same church 50 years earlier; Roddy was in attendance, wearing the same cufflinks he had worn on his own wedding day.
Sinéad and Martin were joined by about 60 family members and close friends. Cello music for the service was provided by the couple’s friend, Stephen Sensbach, who played music by Mendelssohn, Granados and Albinoni. Sinéad’s sisters, Fionnuala and Aifric, were bridesmaids and Martin’s childhood friend Ciarán Melia was the best man. Martin’s youngest brother, Feargal, was groomsman.
The couple’s five-year-old son, Breandán, acted as ringbearer and carried the rings to the altar on a cushion crocheted by Martin’s mother, Mary. Sinéad was joined on the day by her four brothers and Eamonn, her eldest brother, gave her away. Martin’s brother, John, took the photographs. Unfortunately, Martin’s eldest brother, Philip, who lives in Copenhagen, was unable to attend due to work commitments.
Sinéad’s ivory vintage style dress was from De Stafford Bridal and her bouquet of Akito roses and Singaporean orchids was made by Marion Keogh, a family friend.
After the church ceremony the wedding party crossed the road to St Stephen’s Green where the children were provided with bottles of bubbles to amuse themselves while the adults posed for photographs. Sinéad, Martin and Breandán were then conveyed in style by a horse-drawn carriage to the reception in Fallon Byrne on Exchequer Street.
The meal culminated in a croquembouche in place of the traditional wedding cake and was followed by speeches, including a poem written specially for the occasion by Sinéad’s sister, Aifric Mac Aodha. Guests discovered during the speeches that the families’ connection spans three generations as Martin’s father Noel had been taught science by Sinéad’s grandfather, John Breen, in Marian College in the early 1950s. The evening was rounded off by a virtuoso performance by the Ciaran Wilde Jazz Quartet.
Sinéad has a degree in French and Italian and has lived in both countries for extended periods. She has worked as the literature officer of the Arts Council and is now the director of Ireland Literature Exchange (ILE), an organisation which promotes Irish literature abroad. ILE has supported the translation and publication of more than 1,000 works of Irish literature into more than 40 languages.
Once she returns from her honeymoon, Sinéad will be busy organising the participation of a number of Irish writers at the Jaipur festival in India and the ILE stand at the Beijing book fair.
Martin studied fine art in the College of Marketing and Design and has had a varied career in the visual arts, politics and law. He is a keen amateur fencer and cook.
The couple met in a salsa club in 2001 and quickly discovered their shared interest in art and literature. Their first date was attending a play in the Mint theatre off Henry Street. Martin proposed to Sinéad while he was cooking Christmas dinner in 2006.
After the wedding the couple flew to Paris for a very special lunch at Le Grand Véfour, a favourite restaurant of Parisian writers for more than two centuries, before travelling to the Île de Ré on France’s Atlantic coast.