Stars shine on Mr D’Arcy and his bride

As Leinster and Ireland fans will have noted, when it pours, Gordon D’Arcy reigns.

Yesterday Mother Nature obliged. The heavens opened as the Ireland centre, who excels in tough conditions, was in full matrimonial regalia to celebrate his wedding in Co Monaghan.

The 32-year-old missed the final of Ireland’s three Test matches with New Zealand last month due to injury but that did not stop him from tying the knot with the 27-year-old former Miss Ireland Aoife Cogan.

Aoife, who won the title in 2005, tested convention when, sporting an ivory-coloured dress, she had her brother Niall and cousin Dara as two bridesmen along with her sister Sinead as bridesmaid, who walked down the aisle with her at St Macartan’s Cathedral.

As the bride explained earlier: “It’s something different, and it should make the first dance interesting.”

Her second cousin, tenor Paul Byrom, performed on the day and among the guest list was Ireland captain Brian O’Driscoll and his wife Amy Huberman, who celebrated their two-year anniversary this week.

Also there were Gordon’s fellow rugby stars, including Leo Cullen, Rob Kearney, Shane Horgan, Ronan O’Gara, Jonathan Sexton, and Denis Hickie.

More than 100 family and friends witnessed the ceremony inside the cathedral which was decorated with hundreds of white flowers. The couple and their 250 guests attended a private reception last night at nearby Castle Leslie.

The couple had been dating for two years before Gordon got down on bended knee and popped the question last summer while they were on holiday in Minorca. They plan to head off on honeymoon to Barbados next Monday.