What is Gaelic Gala?

Gaelic Gala started out as a joke between my friend Jo-Ann and myself. At that point, it wasn’t called Gaelic Gala, simply my Ireland destination wedding.  Over New Year’s, I tend to spend a few days with Jo-Ann in San Jose, where we grew up. On my way to her place, I ended up listing to an iPod playlist I had created called “Irish Music”.  This playlist included some of my favorite Irish artist, most notably The Corrs, U2, The Swell Season, and Gaelic Storm.  As I drove, I thought about how cool it would be it some of these people could play at my wedding, but how the hell would I incorporate all of them into a single wedding.  That’s when I came up with the Gaelic Gala, a week long wedding extravaganza, where every wedding event would feature one of my favorite Irish artists.

Spending a few days, joke-talking to Jo-Ann about this, turned into a full fledged plan for a week long wedding celebration in Killarney, Ireland. Location was determined, wedding reception details were determined, hell, even the fact that I want to be rich enough to fly everyone over myself and put everyone up was determined. I clearly need to win the lotto to make this happen.  If I’m asking people to fly halfway around the world and take a week off of work, I want to at least pay for air and hotel for them. So…I clearly need to start getting rich ASAP.

Since I’m half Irish and I’ve been there several times, I thought it would be beautiful to get at the house: Coolclogher House. It’s a huge manor house that has always made me feel like I’m living in a Jane Austen novel. I half expect Mr. Darcy to pop up at some point and just make my day. They have these massive back stairs behind the house that roll over the landscape that I think would make a perfect location for the wedding ceremony and the extensive grounds offer a great location for a massive reception tent.

Coolclogher House

My details revolving around Gaelic Gala are forever changing, but below is what my imagination has concocted thus far.

Timing

3^rd week of June

Transportation

Two Jumbo Jets RT (Yeah, that’s right. We’re renting Jumbo Jets to fly everyone. Can you say party plane?)

• LAX to Shannon
• Chicago or NYC to Shannon

Accommodations

Guests will be put up at the Killarney Park Hotel or Hotel Europe in Killarney. I’ve always loved the KPH, but Hotel Europe opened recently and looks gorgeous, so I’ve yet to make a firm decision on this. With the number of guests, I’m assuming we will just need to rent out the hotel.

Some of the wedding party/parents will be staying at Coolclogher House as well as I would love to rent it out for the entire month of June like my Aunt does. Coolclogher can fit 12 – 14 people

Schedule

Friday: Guests fly out on a direct flight on chartered jumbo jet from either LAX or Chicago/NYC

Saturday morning: Everyone arrives. Charter buses will be made available for everyone from Shannon to Killarney, however, guests are welcome to rent a car in Shannon and drive themselves to Killarney, if they would like to have car for the direction of their trip to sightsee

Saturday evening: Welcome cocktail party at the Killarney Country Club.  Charter buses will be made available from the KPH to KCC.

Sunday – Thursday (Day)

Sightseeing – Guests are welcomed to sightsee around the area or country on their own. Optional trips with members of the group will be arranged.

• Trip to Waterford/Blarney Castle – Sunday
• Ring of Kerry bus tour – Monday
• Trip to Cork OR Trip to the Dingle Peninsula – Tuesday
• Trip to Cliffs of Mohr & Galway – Wednesday
• Trip to Bantry Bay –Thursday

Wednesday Night: Stag & Hen Party. The evening will start off at separate dinners for both the guys and the girls, then become a joint party at Danny Mann, with a concert by Gaelic Storm and massive amounts of beer.

Thursday Night: Rehearsal & Rehearsal Dinner: The rehearsal will take place at Coolclogher, followed by a dinner in Kenmare at Sheehan Falls Lodge. Transportation will be provided from the KPH to Sheehan Falls Lodge in Kenmare. Following the dinner, there will be a private concert by The Swell Season.

Friday evening: The Wedding! Transportation will be provided from the KPH to Coolclogher House in Killarney

• 6 PM:  Wedding on the back step of Coolclogher House
• 6:30 – 7:15: Cocktail reception on the lawn, while the wedding party takes pictures
• 7:30 PM – Couple Introduced
• 7:30 PM – 7:45 PM – Toasts
• 8 PM:  Dinner is severed
• 8:45: First Dance The Corrs & Bono will be there to perform “When The Star’s Go Blue” for the first dance.
• 9 PM – 1 AM: Everyone dances their ass off and gets shit faced.  The Corrs stay and do a set from 9 PM – 9:30 PM, after which a DJ will take over.

After the reception is over, transportation will be provided back to the KPH.

Saturday: Farewell Brunch/Lunch will be at the hotel at 1 PM. The rest of the day the guest are free to do whatever they like

Sunday: Depart back to the US. Buses will leave the KPH early Sunday morning to drive back to Shannon in time for the flight.