Grá, guts, gumption and glory: Are these Irish history's greatest romances?
From TG4's Seachtain na Cásca docudrama: Grace Gifford (Kathleen Watkins) and Joseph Plunkett (Declan Harvey) are married in Kilmainham.
Ireland has always had a funny relationship with romance. Despite our location on a cold northern European island and the best efforts of certain institutions, we are a passionate and red-blooded sort.
Our windswept landscapes, love of literature and music and the struggle for freedom have woven themselves into our notions of love and passion.
From the mythology of Gráinne and Diarmuid to the poetry of Yeats and the songs of Van the Man (see earlier reference to gruff), Ireland has long celebrated passion and devotion.
Romance runs through our veins and is steeped in our history. Some of the most famous flings have even shaped it.
According to the 16th century grapevine, Grace O’Malley had a healthy sexual appetite.
Perhaps her best-known dalliance was her marriage to nobleman Iron Richard Burke; a union that was both political and romantic.
Legend has it the couple’s only child, Tibbot-na-Long, was born at sea.
Not long after, the child’s birthplace was boarded by Barbary Pirates and despite her recent gruelling ordeal, Grace, who was nursing, left her chambers to join the fight and rallied her crew to victory.
The official union did not last long and after just one year, Grace divorced her husband with the words, “I dismiss you”.
Though hurt and humiliated, he remained loyal and they continued to fight alongside each other across the waters of Ireland and beyond.
Charles Stewart Parnell was the leader of the Irish Home Rule movement and at the peak of his political powers when his affair with Kitty O’Shea became public knowledge.
The affair, which lasted for ten years and resulted in the birth of three children, had been something of an open secret among so-called polite society.
But when Kitty’s husband, Captain William O’Shea, filed for divorce it became too much for many of Parnell’s Catholic supporters and sparked a major moral and political scandal.
Despite the backlash, and the end of his career, the couple married in 1891. Tragically, Parnell died just months later and left Ireland poised at the crossroads of history.
Perhaps one of the world’s most famous gay affairs started when the pair were introduced in 1891.
Oscar Wilde was at the height of his creative powers and had London society in the palm of his hand when he met the young but rather wild aristocrat.
Their relationship was marked by intense love, destructive jealousy and lavish living.
Wilde, a married man with two children, was infatuated with the young ‘Bosie’ who encouraged him to take risks.
Their affair drew attention and the anger of Alfred’s father, the Marquess of Queensberry who in 1895 accused Wilde of being a sodomite.
This apparent slight on his character prompted Wilde to sue for libel, a move that turned out to be disastrous.
The ensuing trial uncovered the Irishman’s relationships with men, leading to his conviction for what was then classified as gross indecency.
Wilde was sentenced to two years of hard labor in Reading Gaol and after his release in 1897, exiled himself.
Though the pair reunited in Naples, financial struggles and social pressures forced them apart.
Three years later, the playwright died alone in Paris.
James Joyce and Nora Barnacle met on June 10, 1904, in Dublin, when Nora, a young woman from Galway, was working in Finn’s Hotel and caught the eye of the aspiring writer.
Six days later they went out on their first and rather eventful date, now celebrated every year on Bloomsday and the day he chose to set his masterpiece, Ulysses.
Their tempestuous relationship was full of jealousy, whim and passion, evident in the couple’s letters to each other.
Despite Joyce’s alcohol abuse and endless financial troubles, Nora would remain his devoted partner throughout.
Shortly after meeting, they left Ireland together and lived in Trieste, Zurich and Paris.
Despite the writer's eventual fame, they continued to have their struggles, their daughter Lucia suffered severe mental health difficulties and money was often an issue.
Always unconventional, the couple didn’t marry until 1931. Joyce died ten years later and Nora followed him in 1951.
Perhaps one of the most celebrated love stories in Irish history is that of revolutionary Joseph Plunkett and artist Grace Gifford.
As one of the major planners of the 1916 Rising, Plunkett was arrested and sentenced to death after its failure.
The night before his execution, Grace married him inside Kilmainham Gaol and was given just a few short moments with him before she was removed from his cell.
After his death, Grace never remarried and remained committed to the cause of Irish independence.
She would later spend time in prison herself for her activism and lived the rest of her life with Plunkett’s memory in her heart.
Their romance and marriage are celebrated in the famous Irish song Grace.
Kitty Kiernan had caught the attention of two young friends - Michael Collins and Harry Boland - during the War of Independence.
Boland had been courting Kitty but when The Big Fella entered the picture, a romantic triangle developed.
Despite Hollywood’s best efforts, it’s unclear as to whether this sparked bitterness between the two.
They certainly ended on opposing sides during the subsequent and rather stupid Civil War in which both men met violent ends.
After Collins’ assassination at Beal na Bláth, Kitty never fully recovered and despite many suitors she never married.
Despite the pathetic propensity to hate on him, Bono remains one of Ireland’s most significant cultural icons.
The U2 lead singer, and his wife, Ali Hewson, have been together since meeting as teenagers at Mount Temple Comprehensive School in Dublin over forty years ago.
Despite the pressures of fame, and some questionable hairstyles, Ali has stuck with the singer and the pair remain devoted to each other.
They have four children, all of whom are proving themselves in their given field. Promenade, Sweetest Thing and Spanish Eyes are just some of the tunes the singer has written in her honour.
The Liverpudlian crooner and professional dancer were paired on Dancing with the Stars Ireland in 2018.
Their chemistry on the dancefloor was undeniable, and after winning the competition, romance blossomed.
Despite their six-year age gap and the often intense media scrutiny, their relationship has remained strong.
They frequently share glimpses of their life together on social media where they show their love for travel, music, and, yes, dancing.
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