In a thoroughly enjoyable interview on tonight’s Late Late Show on RTE, Nell and Michael McDonagh gave a very candid interview about the fact they had an arranged marriage in 1975.
When both were just 17, their parents arranged for the two, Nell from Mullingar and Michael from Dundalk, to get married immediately.
They spoke of how they knew no different, that that was just how life was and that they expected it having already seen their relatives go through similar rituals.
Perhaps the most entertaining or fascinating part of the interview was the fact that the couple obviously genuinely cared for each other like any other married couple who just met randomly.
They articulated very well the new connection between “country people and members of the travelling community”.
They’re both now married 42 years, have children and grandchildren and are as happy as ever.