CIARA’S BIG DAY ABOUT TO HAPPEN
DERRY star Ciara McGurk is getting hitched this year come what may.
The date has been set for December and there is no going back now — Covid or no Covid!
During TG4 All-Ireland finals’ day at Croke
Park in 2017, McGurk famously got engaged when boyfriend Ryan McCloskey went down on one knee, with Dáithí Ó Sé performing MC duties in front of 46,286 fans.
But the couple had to postpone their wedding due to the pandemic.
McGurk has been kept busy in the meantime, coaching underage girls’ teams and a local men’s club side, too.
She has also started a nursing degree, but all her thoughts are now focused on her big day on December 10.
The day she thought would never come.
“We took the decision in March of last year to postpone the wedding,” said the 30-year-old.
And she added: “We had family coming from America and Australia, so we decided to put if off until this year in the hope that things would get back to normal again, but they’re not.
“The family members in Australia and America still won’t be able to be here. Australia has closed its borders. If you leave (the country), you can’t get back in.
“With America, there’s too much testing to get in and out. It’s a pity. It would have been the first family get-together in years, especially on my mam’s side. The last time the whole family was together was before I was born.
“No matter what, we want to get married. It’s about me and Ryan. We will be getting married on December 10.
“We were in no rush, but there’s no point in putting it off anymore.”
Their quirky proposal has attracted 30,000plus views on YouTube, but McGurk has another reason for remembering that day at Croke Park so well.
She scored a goal in TG4 All-Ireland Junior Championship final in a 3-7 to 2-10 draw with Fermanagh.
Derry lost the replay, but it’s a time McGurk will never forget.
Celebration
“Ryan thought if we lost, it would be a great pick-me-up. If we won, it would be an even bigger celebration, but he didn’t take a draw into consideration,” said McGurk.
“It was a bittersweet one because we were nine points up with 10 minutes remaining.”
Ó Sé was doing interviews at half-time during the intermediate decider, with McGurk left speechless when her boyfriend got down on one knee.
“Afterwards, we went in and got changed and came back up to the stand,” said McGurk.
“The captain said: ‘Ciara, they want to do an interview with you at half-time.’ I was like, ‘What for?’
“She said it was because I scored a goal.
“They were chatting about the match and they interviewed the other two girls and left me until last.
“They were just chatting away about the match, ‘how did it feel to score a goal?’ Then they said something about Ryan, you have a fella called Ryan.
“I turned around and there he was!”