Molly and Pat Feery celebrate 60 years of married life
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Molly and Pat cut the cake to mark their diamond anniversary on Monday of last week.Image 2 of 4
Jacinta Daly, Aishling Daly, Val Seery, Ann Feery, Anne O’Keeffe and Anne-Marie Grennan, with Molly and Pat.Image 3 of 4
Mossie Spollen, Margaret Spollen, Gordon Alexander, Liz Alexander, John Rigney, Dinah Rigney, and Sean Lynch with Molly and Pat.Image 4 of 4
Molly and Pat with family – Sharon Feery, Bernie O’Brien, Declan Feery, Summer Feery, Robyn Feery and Aoife O’Brien.Molly and Pat Feery celebrated the diamond jubilee of their wedding on August 4 last, six decades to the day from when they tied the knot in Molly’s home parish, Croghan. They had family and friends with them to celebrate at Gonoud’s of Tyrrellspass, their home village after a short time renting a house in the nearby townland of Ring.
Speaking to the Westmeath Examiner, Molly and Pat expressed their gratitude to all who attended their party, their family and friends, including their musician son, Declan, who played along with Declan White to entertain the guests, Fr Barry Condron, PP, Tyrrellspass, who provided a blessing and the staff at Gonoud’s.
They were well served with photo and video professionals too, as Pat is a cameraman. Along with John McCauley, who sent photos to the Examiner, Ollie Gallagher and Tom Shaw and Gerard Galvin were also present to help record the event.
Molly and Pat met at Lilliput Sports in July 1964, were engaged in October, and married the following August. Pat remembers it well. He said: “We met up on the way, there were three or four women cycling ahead of us, and we met up with those girls, not knowing who they were or anything like that.
"We went on to the sports anyway, and I said I’d take this lady out for a dance. David George Fallon was supplying the music. And that it was from there on, we met that day, and it was a year after that we got married.”
They married in St Bridget’s Church, Croghan, on August 4, 1965. Their reception, a breakfast event, was in Nolan’s of Edenderry, and Pat remarked that the last surviving member of that family, who had been living at Bethany House in Tyrrellspass, has recently passed away.
The couple remember the day in 1965 well, even the costs of £49 for the reception and £7 for the cake. They also remembered the clergy who officiated at the Mass, Fr Kelly, RIP, and Fr Dowling, RIP.
Back to the present, and for the diamond jubilee party Molly and Pat at a great afternoon. Like their wedding reception, it started fairly early in the day and had wrapped up by 7pm.
“The two Decs provided the music,” said Pat, and later in the day Kit Loughrey and Marius Gavin joined in providing the entertainment.
As well as children and grandchildren, they had the company of siblings and in-laws, including Diana Rigney, Margaret Spollen and Sean Lynch; Anne, wife of Pat’s late brother, Johnny, who died last year, plus Joe Daly, who was their pageboy, and friends and neighbours.