Cork couple recall their first date on Valentine’s Day...

THE first experience Michael Mulcahy had of weddings was his own on July 22, 1980.

“My favourite memory of the day was seeing Ann walk up the aisle with her dad,” says Michael, from Fairhill.

“My own wedding was the first one I ever attended, and it was overwhelming; the atmosphere and the people.

“We were planning to renew our marriage vows in 2020 but Covid put a stop to that. But we’ll do that as soon as we can.”

Michael and Ann were the youngest couple to get married at the Metropole Hotel. He was 19 and she was 17. The couple have gone from young love to endless love.

“I first met Ann on Friday, February 9, in the Arcadia at a disco,” recalls Michael.

He had already spotted the pretty girl with the ready smile.

“I’d seen her the week before,” says Michael. 

“I had no courage to ask her out to dance. I didn’t have what it took.

“I liked her looks and her smile got me straight away. We had made eye and she smiled at me and I smiled back.”

Michael hatched a plan to approach Ann.

“I said to my pal Hughie ‘Come down with me and ask her friend to dance and I’ll ask Ann’.”

It worked.

“On the night I hit the bullseye,” Michael says.

“I only had the courage to dance a slow dance and I the song was by the Bee Gees, Too Much Heaven.”

Michael was in seventh heaven.

“My heart was pounding. I’m sure Ann heard it!”

What was she wearing?

“She wore jeans and a cream sleeveless knitted jumper with a white blouse underneath. I was big into my Levi’s. I had on a grandfather shirt and a denim waistcoat.

“We stayed dancing and then we went into the mineral bar and I asked if I could walk her home. She said yes.

“When we got to her grandmother’s house on Cove Street, I kissed her goodnight. And I floated home.”

Hughie scored too.

“Hughie walked Ann’s friend, Norma, home,” says Michael.

Michael was keen to see Ann again soon.

“I was on shift work and I wasn’t free until the Wednesday, which was February 14, I was off then and I was calling to Ann’s Nan’s house to take Ann for a walk at seven. 

"I only realised the next day that our date was Valentine’s Day and it was like shock, horror, what would I do? Get a card?”

Michael got to work.

“I walked from Fairhill into Easons on Patrick Street and I bought a card in a box. It had a red bow around it.”

Michael was going the whole nine yards.

“I saw a white teddy bear with a red ribbon and I decided to go the whole hog and buy that too. I asked the girl in Easons to put it in a big bag so that nobody would see it on the way home.”

Michael wasn’t getting paid until the end of the week.

“I never checked the price of the card and the teddy bear. I was caught on the hop. But I had no regrets.

“I called to Ann and our first date was a walk up the Mardyke into College Road. We stopped at Lennox’s chipper and we got chips and a mineral.”

Michael and Ann got on like a house on fire.

“We were very young, but that never came up. We found out that first night that we could talk to each other easily and we got on very well. We made a date for the following week.”

Michael was ecstatic.

“I said to myself, ‘Don’t let this go wrong now!’” Did Ann like the card and the white teddy bear wrapped up in red bows?

“She loved the teddy bear. The tears came to my eyes when I saw her reaction. She had it for years and kept it in our home.”

The courtship continued and Michael proposed in January, 1980.

“We bought the engagement ring in Theo’s, South Main Street, and we got the wedding bands in Moore’s”

What did Ann say when Michael proposed to her?

“She jumped into my arms. I was a bit apprehensive, we were so young. But we knew we wanted to be together always,” says Michael.

“We got married in St Finbarr’s South church on Dunbar Street. It was a big wedding with 150 guests. Annie, Ann’s Nan, paid for everything. We even had a free bar at the hotel! Annie idolised Ann. She was so generous.”

Michael arrived early to the church on the happiest day of his life.

“I was very early to the church,” he recalls.

“I the music started and I looked down the aisle at Ann walking up with her dad. She looked stunning.

“She had got the wedding dress in Oxford Street, London. Annie had made sure everything was perfect. Ann blew me away when I saw her.”

The Metropole was a wonderful venue to celebrate the wedding.

“It had an amazing reputation for weddings,” says Ann.

“It was the place to get married and a central location for everyone to attend. The service and food was amazing.”

Michael has great memories of his wedding venue.

“I have great memories of looking out from the Shandon room over at Merchant’s Quay.”

The happy couple’s honeymoon was delayed for two years.

“I was still serving my apprenticeship,” says Michael.

“But in 1982 we went to the Isle of Man and we had a fantastic time.”

Michael and Ann were blessed with two children.

“Lisa is 41 and Mark is 36,” says Michael. “We have four grandchildren, all boys, Kevin, Jake, Luke and Aaron.

“We live in Bellview Park in Frankfield and we have great neighbours.”

Michael and Ann love married bliss.

“I have a husband in a million and he is my gem, the best 41 years of my life and hopefully many more,” says Ann.

“We were always happy,” says Michael. “Even though going through life, there were tough times too. Life threw some curve balls when unforeseen things happened.”

Michael is sure he made a great decision marrying his first and only love.

“It was the best decision I ever made, marrying Ann.

“We didn’t get to renew our marriage vows yet but we will do that this year now that Covid is nearly over. We hope to have a great celebration in the Metropole and we won’t leave anybody out.”

What does he think is the secret to a happy marriage?

“A wise old man once said to me; the two most important words to any question she asks is, ‘yes dear!”

In other words, just agree!

‘Agree with the wife and have selective hearing. The wife is the engine room of every marriage. My advice is don’t live in the past, you’ve already been there. Live in the present and enjoy every moment. Try not to worry about the future.

“I enjoy the moments playing football with my grandkids. The little moments matter. The little snapshots; a smile, a laugh means so much!”

Michael and Ann are soul-mates.

“Her smile can light up a room,” says Michael.

“She has been my rock, my beacon in the dark and my com when I’ve been lost.”

Life is good for Michael and Ann.

“We’re all happy and healthy. Life is good.”