I came to New York in 1999 to visit Eveleen for the summer and never left.

I met my husband, Derek, at a bar here. We didn’t know each other from home even though we grew up living only a few miles from one another. 

We got married at St. Patricks Cathedral in New York. Derek’s aunt Teresa was married there years before, and she came over in a wheelchair to the wedding with her son John. She said she wouldn’t have missed it. 

My dad Charlie, and I travelled in a white Rolls Royce when we got married.

When we arrived at the church, a lot of people stood at the church and across the street. There were so many people just watching. They thought someone famous was getting married!! We went to Central Park to get our photos taken and then had our reception at Rosie O’Grady’s.

Derek and I now live in Yonkers, and we have three children. Molly is 7, Joe is 4, and Frankie is 1, named after their grandparents. I am very lucky to have two great sisters here. There were four of us here, but my sister Annie moved back a few years ago with her family. We missed her so much when she left, but we’re happy that she’s doing so well at home, and it’s nice for my parents to have one of their daughters home. My sisters have children similar ages to mine, so we get together a lot and go on holidays together. Our children play Gaelic football here, and I’m hoping Molly will take up Gaelige and Tin Whistle in the fall.