Watch: Man pops the question at top of Shandon, replicating fiancée’s parents 40 years ago

Wedding bells are set to ring out after a man popped the question on top of Cork’s landmark Shandon steeple where his fiancée’s parents got engaged four decades ago.

Scot Joshua Rowan and his girlfriend, Bernadette Shannon, flew from Edinburgh to Cork on Tuesday morning for what Bernadette thought was going to be a short city break visiting family on the city’s northside.

Bernadette's mother, Margaret, was raised in sight of the city's famous St Anne’s Church in Shandon, and often heard the story of how her late dad, Bernard, proposed to her mother on the famous church tower in 1979.

But it never dawned on her the same would happen to her. Joshua had other ideas.

He had spent weeks working on a surprise proposal and planned to pop the big question at a Zach Bryan concert in Dublin this weekend, even asking his future mother-in-law for permission to ask for her daughter’s hand in marriage earlier this week.

The couple set off sightseeing in Cork City on Tuesday, and visited Shandon to ring the bells and climb its tower to take in the magnificent city views.

Bernadette said even that was an emotional moment for her, knowing she was following in her parents’ footsteps.

Joshua, a stone mason, said he was quite enamoured with the tower’s wonderful stonework and almost forgot what he was planning to do.

“But the weather was too good, and I recalled Margaret’s story of her proposal on top of Shandon and I think the stars aligned. To be honest, I’ve been planning it almost since the day I met Bernadette. I knew she was the one,” he said.

He had hidden the ring in Bernadette’s bag, and as they stood atop the Shandon tower, he rummaged in her bag for a bottle of water, before whipping out the ring, dropping to one knee and, with the city's skyline as the backdrop, popping the question.

Stunned and delighted, she said yes.

For Bernadette, it was a moment laden with emotion and nostalgia. Her dad died just six years ago, two weeks shy of his 40th wedding anniversary. Margaret said he would have been so proud.

“When they came back, it was just so emotional. I cried, but it is so lovely, it just hit me hard they got engaged on Shandon,” she said.

“They had a ring, we didn’t when we got engaged there in 1979 but we went into town afterwards and bought the ring there and then.” 

She said Joshua shares many of her late husband’s traits, and his decision to ask her for permission before asking her daughter to marry him was a real sign of respect.

Bernadette, who moved to Edinburgh two years ago and works in a dental lab, met Joshua in a pub. They went for a walk a few days later and she said she fell in love with his dog first, and with him afterwards. They have been inseparable since.

They have yet to set a wedding date or venue.

Rev Meghan Farr of St Anne’s Church said they were delighted for the happy couple.

“What an honour to be the starting place for two generations of family,” she said.