Wedding of the Week: Watch Abby and Stephen go viral with trad session in Cobh Cathedral

'We set up a WhatsApp group for our guests and said, these are the tunes, bring along your instruments if you want to join in'

Sun, 21 Aug, 2022 - 15:59

Eve Kelliher

So how do two musicians who have been gigging at other people's weddings for almost a decade celebrate their own big day?

They strike up a session in one of Ireland’s most famous cathedrals, of course.

“We had so many friends attending who were musicians that a couple of days before we felt it would be lovely to have them join us in a session at the altar rails, so we set up a WhatsApp group telling them: These are the tunes, and bring along your instruments if you want to join in,” Abby Ní Loingsigh says.

Abby Ní Loingsigh and and Stephen O'Dea during their 'seisiún'. Pictures: Eamon @ photographic.ie

Abby exchanged vows with Stephen O'Dea, from Killmallock, Co Limerick, in her native St Colman's Cathedral in her native Cobh, Co Cork, on Saturday.

Lisdoonvarna might be the home of the matchmaking festival but for Abby and Stephen the County Clare town was where they were paired up as bandmates.

But Abby and Stephen hit all the right notes with one another that day.

“We were both hired separately as resident musicians in a hotel band, Ceolan,” says Stephen, who plays guitar.

Abby, a violinist, adds: “When we tell people we met in Lisdoonvarna, they always ask if it was at the matchmaking festival. But we made our own match.”

Teachers by day and musicians by night they’ve since been in the spotlight as a duo, Stephen & Abby, at countless other gigs and weddings — most recently their own.

Abby Ní Loingsigh and her dad Seán Ó Loingsigh, and Stephen O'Dea. Pictures: Eamon @ photographic.ie

They were married by the groom’s uncle, Fr Frank O’Dea and the musicians Ó Faoláin performed during the ceremony.

The video of the newlyweds and their guests' joyful celebratory “seisiún” has since gone viral.

Abby’s dad, Seán, on accordion, led around 20 musicians up the aisle, including Abby and Stephen's sisters — giving a rendition of the traditional piece Frank’s Reel, by John McCusker. “It’s a coincidence that the priest is called Fr Frank!” says the bride.

“I had also composed a wedding march for the entrance procession, called Lúnasa im’ Chroí, or August in my Heart.”

Wedding ceremony over and then this #cobh love it pic.twitter.com/hwZ1aVw0gH
— Jimmy Stafford (@JimmystaffordDJ) August 15, 2022

They were surprised and delighted when the video “went viral” they add. “Our friend Maurice Dineen, of Club Ceoil Ballyphehane, a great man for music in Cork, recorded the video that went out on social media,” says Stephen.

Yet more toe-tapping tunes rang out in Mallow at the reception in Springfort Hall Country House Hotel.

Abby Ní Loingsigh and and Stephen O'Dea with their wedding party at Springfort Hall Hotel. Pictures: Eamon @ photographic.ie

“Strings and Things from Tipperary, were our wedding band,” says Abby. “They are great friends of ours. We met them when we were all musicians at Disney World in Orlando for a year in 2015.”

Both sets of parents helped plan the event, Jenny and Seán Ó Loingsigh and Theresa and Tom O’Dea, as well as Abby’s grandmothers Ann Higgins and Mary Lynch.

“My nana Ann’s house is literally a stone’s throw from Cobh Cathedral and her mother would have witnessed the cathedral being built,” says Abby.

“Three generations of my family married there and the walls of Cobh Cathedral almost fall onto my grandmother’s backyard.”

The bride sourced her chic dress in Vows in Blarney and the groom looked dapper thanks to Eoin Murphy of Red Church Suits, Cork.

Abby Ní Loingsigh with her bridal party. . Pictures: Eamon @ photographic.ie

Abby's aunt and godmother Colette Higgins of Colette's Collections made all of the jewellery for the bride and her bridesmaids.

Abby’s sister Áine Ní Loingsigh was her maid of honour and their sister Muireann Ní Loingsigh joined forces with Stephen’s sister Niamh O’Dea and Abby’s friends Cliona Halley, Orla O’Hanlon, Sophie Olsthoorn and Leonie Bennett as bridesmaids.

Stephen’s brother Gerard O’Dea was by his side as his best man while Abby’s brother Seán Lynch was groomsmen with Joe Kelly, Barry Corbett, Eamonn O’Donoghue, Aidan Hyland and Liam Togher as groomsmen.

Abby Ní Loingsigh and and Stephen O'Dea. Pictures: Eamon @ photographic.ie

Capturing their special moments for posterity were photographic.ie and Denis O’Leary, videographer. “Our photographer Eamon from photographic.ie couldn’t have been more fun and he and our videographer Denis O’Leary were just wonderful,” says Abby.

The bride is a music teacher and head of strings with Musica Fusion School of Music Charleville and also conducts a choir.

Abby Ní Loingsigh. Pictures: Eamon @ photographic.ie

The groom is a special education teacher in Cork city primary school St Maries of the Isle They live in Kilmallock, moving into the former home in Kilmallock of Stephen’s grandparents, the late Debbie and Tim O’Riordan in lockdown in 2020 (the year of their engagement, at White Strand, Miltown Malbay).

The newlyweds will honeymoon in South Africa next Easter but right now are enjoying a break in Donegal. “We wanted something quiet after the chaos of the wedding,” says Stephen.

It will be something of a melodic busman’s holiday: “We are actually playing at another friend’s wedding [in Meath] on our way back home,” says Abby.