Couple tied the knot on flooded Cork island during Storm Amy
Olivia Kelleher
A couple who booked their wedding in an oratory on a small island in Co Cork could never have imagined that their big day would coincide with the “epic flooding” caused by Storm Amy.
American bride, Elisabeth Villa, and her Irish husband, Anthony McSweeney, tied the knot last week in Gougane Barra near Ballingeary in the Muskerry Gaeltacht.
The scenic valley and heritage site in the Shehy Mountains of Co Cork is a hugely popular wedding venue.
However, last Thursday, the island became a “no walk zone” and the couple had to put out all the stops to keep their big day from being ruined.
Photographer John Sexton, told the Neil Prendeville Show on Red FM, that the rainfall was “biblical” in nature:
“The rain came off the mountains. By the time of the wedding, the island was flooded. It was under two feet of water. Fr Sean O’Sullivan went up to the couple and said, ‘lads we are in trouble.’"
The paperwork for the wedding was signed, and therefore, the wedding needed to take place on Gougane Barra.
Mr Sexton told Red FM that the manager of the Gougane Barra hotel brought just the family over in a four-by-four jeep to do a quick ceremony.
Mr Sexton said he wanted to get at least one photograph of the couple outside the church.
“I had to venture out onto what was the island, but was now a lake. I was able to venture out with small plastic bags, but they were too small, so Fr Sean gave me two refuse bags to put on my legs.
"The weird thing is that there was a strange sense of calm. Everyone did their bit.
"The lake and the island were one. There was a possibility we would get stuck there if we didn’t hurry up.
"The harpist had a huge harp that had to be lifted on and off the island.”
Meanwhile, the bride Elisabeth said that nothing was going to put a dampener on their special day:
“They (the photographs) came out beautiful. More than we could have asked for.
"We were laughing, looking at it all from the bridal suite (in the hotel). We were going to have a great day no matter what."
Elisabeth joked that the so-called lucky charm - the Child of Prague statue - had failed the couple, bringing flooding instead of sunshine.
I don’t think I would change anything. I expected rain, but all we needed was Anthony and me to be there. It will be a great story to tell in the future. I wouldn’t change a thing.”
Anthony said that whilst the wedding party consisted of 60 people, they only had about 20 at the ceremony.
The couple plans to meet up with the family of the bride in Boston for another day of celebrations in the coming weeks. They will honeymoon in Italy next year.
