Jerry Buttimer marries long time partner: Our wedding is a 'day of joy'

Theirs is a high-profile marriage for obvious reasons but Jerry Buttimer and Conchobar Ó Laoghaire’s wedding in Cork today is primarily a celebration of their love for each other.

Theirs is a high-profile marriage for obvious reasons but Jerry Buttimer and Conchobar Ó Laoghaire’s wedding in Cork today is primarily a celebration of their love for each other, writes Gráinne McGuinness

“It will be a celebration of a relationship based on love and respect and it will be a celebration for our family and our friends,” Mr Buttimer told the Evening Echo.

“And you know what, it will be a bit of a hooley too!”

That’s Some rain and storm outside Child of Prague , there is still time 😄😄🌈🌈🌈 #weather #weddingday pic.twitter.com/5drWMUzZrI

— Jerry Buttimer TD (@jerrybuttimer) December 29, 2017

Mr Buttimer is a long-standing Cork politician and current leader of the Seanad. He came out publicly in 2012 and the couple announced their engagement in July this year.

He said he and Mr Ó Laoghaire are very aware of previous couples who would not have had the option available to them.

“It is a day that many people in the community could never have previously and it is a day that we can now have. I am conscious that there were so many people who weren’t able to get married who have left us.”

Mr Buttimer was a high-profile campaigner during the same sex marriage referendum in 2015 and said their day would also be a celebration of the work of his fellow activists.

“Today will be a day of celebration of everyone who has fought for marriage equality. As a politician I have been fortunate to be able to play a part in that fight.” A number of fellow politicians are expected to join the couple’s friends and families for the wedding.

But despite the presence of photographers and high-profile politicians, Jerry said the focus will be on their personal relationship: “For me it is a day of celebrating the love that I have for my partner and he for me. It is a great day, a day of joy.”

The couple, who have been together for a decade, get married in the Triskel Christchurch this afternoon. After a celebration with family and friends, they fly to Paris for a short honeymoon.

This story first appeared in the Evening Echo