Limerick couple married 60 years give secret to wedded bliss on Valentine’s Day

MIKE and Nora Murphy met while cycling home from a ceili and 63 years later they are still in tandem.

The couple, both aged 80, from Ardagh, celebrated their diamond wedding anniversary on February 3.

Back in 1959, they both left separately on their bikes from a ceili in what is now known as the Desmond Banqueting Hall in Newcastle West. Mike and Nora stopped to watch some men arguing at a crossroads near Ardagh and struck up a conversation. They were both 17.

Mike said there were very few cars on the roads that time so there were no dangers when cycling. 

"Except you might come across a guard who demanded a reason for having no light on the bike," he smiled.

Three years later Nora was walking down the aisle on February 3, 1962. She said it was the first wedding she ever attended. 

"I wasn’t sure what to expect. I remember turning around to go back to my seat after the ring ceremony only to hear a voice from somewhere whispering, 'Stay there Nora!'" she said.

After the wedding ceremony they came home, had breakfast before going for a drive to Shannon in Mike's Ford Anglia. 

There was no wedding party in a hotel with 200 odd guests, speeches, toasts and dancing that night. Mike and Nora stopped to see Ben Hur in the cinema in Limerick city before coming home.

Limerick couples hope to bloom this St Valentine's Day

They lived with Mike’s parents until a house came up for sale in the locality. It was bought for less than £500.

Nora worked as a "domestic servant" at Nash’s, who owned a cinema in Newcastle West. Her wages were thirty five shillings a week. But she had to give up work when she got married as was the ruling at the time. Mike worked in Shannon Meats in Rathkeale.

He is a gifted fiddle player and played back then in a ceili band called the Old Glenside. Mike and Madge Mullins, from Ardagh, played in the same band so they travelled to céilis together and Nora minded their children until they came home, for which she was paid a generous half a crown.

While Mike’s passion is music, Nora’s is GAA. She went to every football and hurling match in the locality. They both love set dancing.

They had five children - Jerry, Donie, Margaret, Noreen and Michael. Jerry followed in his father’s fingertips and is an All-Ireland champion banjo player. They have 18 grandchildren.

And now, the big question, as couples across the county and country celebrate Valentine’s Day - what is the secret to sixty years of happily married life?

They both agree that the key to a successful marriage is to "know when to keep your mouth closed!"

Mike and Nora are wished many, many more happy years together by all their friends and family.