Having surrendered his independent status, the Donegal TD, Mr Tom Gildea, is now on honeymoon at a secret location with his bride.
In a secret ceremony Mr Gildea (61) and his bride, Ms Eilish Hegarty, who is in her late 30s, were wed in a ceremony at St Michael's Church, Creeslough. The only witnesses were Mrs Gwen Breslin, the maid of honour, and her husband, Mr Michael Breslin, who was best man.
The ceremony was held at this church, more than an hour from their local church, because of the couple's desire for "complete privacy", according to Mrs Breslin. The news, locals agreed yesterday, came as a surprise.
"You know yourself, we could have had cameras at all angles, and they wanted complete privacy," said Mrs Breslin, explaining the secrecy. "It all went very well and a lovely day was had by all."
Earlier her husband, asked about the secrecy surrounding the wedding, told The Irish Times that he had been "sworn to secrecy for a long, long time".
The couple have known each other for a long time, explained his wife, living just a short distance apart in Glenties. However, the length of their courtship was also a secret. "It's been more than a year but I won't say more than that."
The couple were married by Father Patrick Prendergast in Glenties. Afterwards they retired to Castlegrove House outside Letterkenny.
Mr Gildea has a farm of 30 acres in Glenties, and a new house is being constructed there, a fact, agreed Mrs Breslin, which could have given a hint to locals that wedding plans were afoot.
Keeping to the party line, she would not reveal where the couple had gone for their honeymoon, except that they were "outside of the county".
Asked if it was a destination for which they needed their passports she replied: "I am not going to answer that. It's not too far away in case Bertie needs to talk to him! He will be able to get back in a hurry."