LAST SATURDAY, John O’Sullivan from Co Kerry married Tricia Yang from Manila in the Philippines, in Glenflesk Church, outside Killarney, where the groom’s parents were married 33 years ago.
The couple met as students at University of California, Berkeley, where Tricia studied for her MS in public policy analysis and John was on a year’s scholarship during his MA in management from the London School of Economics. They lived in the same student residence for a year, followed by a year of commuting between Ireland, the US and the Philippines, before settling in London to continue their lives together.
John is the son of Nora and Dan O’Sullivan, who run a dairy farm together outside Killarney.
Tricia’s mother, Terttu, is originally from Finland, but grew up in Australia. She teaches maths, while her father, Richard, is CEO of Catalytx Advertising in the Philippines.
Tricia and John live in Shepherds Bush in London where Tricia works for Deloitte Consulting and John works for Accenture.
On their wedding day, Tricia was assisted by her four bridesmaids Angela Yang Handy, Cynthia Czerwin, Erin Scanlon and Nina Rizzo. John’s groomsmen were Donal O’Sullivan, Martin Richter, Maurice O’Connell and Adrian O’Connor.
The couple chose to get married in Ireland so that Tricia’s parents would visit. They chose Glenflesk Church because John’s parents were married there almost exactly 33 years previously. They had their party at the Cahernane Hotel in Killarney because of its excellent food and reputation.
Family and friends travelled from all over the world for the special day, and many humorous stories arose from their travels. John’s friend Daniel Diana arrived at Kerry Airport from Italy 30 minutes before the ceremony was to begin and was told that the drive should take 45 minutes. It was his first time in Ireland so he jumped in the first taxi he found, and said “take me to Glenflesk Church.” The driver turned around and asked “Are you going to John O’Sullivan’s wedding?” as, by coincidence, her parents were also going to the wedding. He made it to the church on time.
Tricia also impressed the locals during her speech with her insightful analysis of Jack O’Connor’s strategy against Meath in the All-Ireland football semi-final.
Their 100 guests were made up of people from every continent except Antartica, and 13 countries were represented on the dance floor during the Siege of Ennis. Traditional music included sets with the groom on the bodhran, his sister Katherine on the tin whistle, and groomsman Adrian on the drums. The highlight of the evening, however, was when four guests who had never met before picked up the official band’s instruments during an intermission and played like professionals. “It was a fabulous night of music,” said the groom.
All the visitors enjoyed their introduction to Ireland, and the weather on the wedding day was beautiful and dry. The couple went on to spend their honeymoon week in a cottage wedged between the sea and the mountains in Castlecove, Co Kerry, along with 12 of their close friends. And some sheep.