How the best man won this woman’s heart
Music is the food of love for genial record company boss Paul O’Reilly and his sparkly wife Katie Brady O’Reilly, writes Andrea Smith
AS MD of the Dolphin Music Group, Paul O’Reilly has provided the charts with countless Irish, folk and country music hits over the years. And while there’s a song for every occasion, I’m not sure if there’s one that covers this particular romantic scenario — in what sounds like the plot of a Hollywood romcom, Paul was best man at his wife Katie’s first wedding, and is godfather to her eldest child.
Paul was 24 when he met 19-yearold Terenure girl Katie for the first time in the 1970s. “I was dating his pal and Paul and I became great friends,” says Katie, adding that Paul is “the nicest man in Ireland.”
Katie was working as a phlebotomist when she married her first husband, and they had three children, Tracey-Anne, Amy and Robert. Katie went back to work part-time in one of Paul’s family’s record shops in 1984, a year after her marriage ended.
Paul’s dad Joe (JP) opened the first branch of Dolphin Discs in Dolphin’s Barn in 1958. The family lived in Rialto and moved to Templeogue when Paul, the eldest of five, was 15. He did a BComm at UCD and then joined the family business. By that stage, there were nine Dolphin Discs shops and Paul, who was always passionate about music, became more involved in the record company his dad started in 1968, also bearing the name Dolphin. Paul’s first marriage ended in 1990 and he has three children, Simon, Jenny and Michael.
While Katie started off working in the retail side of the business, her sparkling manner soon saw her moving into press and promotions for the artists and albums. She also worked with promoter and great friend, Pat Egan. Paul and his brother Joe started a second label, Dara, to launch Joe’s wife, Mary Black, as they felt she was different to their Dolphin artists. Mary has a sublime voice, and Katie became renowned in the industry for her dedicated promotion of Mary, and the roster of fantastic Irish stars who followed, like Frances Black, Dolores Keane, Jack L, Tommy Fleming, Liam Clancy, Ronnie Drew, Phil Coulter and Finbar Wright, to name but a few. Not to mention international stars like Emmylou Harris and Eva Cassidy.
They had huge success with the all-female A Woman’s Heart album, which remains the biggest-selling album in Ireland to this day.
It was in 1993 that Paul and Katie’s long-standing friendship blossomed into a great romance. Both were single and used to tell each other about dates they’d had, until one day they fell for one anoth- er. They were married in 2004 and have a gorgeous 19-year-old daughter Eva, who was a delightful surprise as Katie was 45. They’re very proud of Eva as she’s about to embark on her dream of working with animals. Katie also has 10 adored grandchildren, and the whole blended family situation has worked out very amicably.
So what did Katie find attractive about Paul? “His sparkling blue eyes, great legs and height,” she says. “Paul is great fun and we get on brilliantly. He is probably the kindest, nicest person I’ve met in my life.”
Now 68, Paul says that Katie (64) is a “gorgeous-looking woman” and very easy to be with. “She laughs at all my jokes and there’s a real togetherness there,” he says. “Katie has a great personality and is a very strong person and I really admire her.”
After their dad JP died, Paul and Joe ran the company together until Joe set up his own label, 3u. Mary Black, The Coronas and Thanks Brother are on it, and Dolphin distributes their albums. Paul took over the running of the record company and developed its online shop, EssentialIrish.com, with his son Michael. He’s delighted Michael and Jenny are working with him, continuing it as a real family affair. “My mum Maura is the unsung heroine of the business,” says Paul. “She’s almost 95 and was always a great support to my dad and the whole family.”
Katie also had a very strong mum. Her dad William passed away when she was 11, and her late mum May went back to nursing at night at Harold’s Cross Hospice, while taking care of Katie and her sisters.
Dolphin is famous for its fabulous Irish music compilations, such as the Ronan Collins Showbands series, all skilfully put together by Paul. Its latest offering is the gorgeous 2CD album, An Irish Welcome, compiled in celebration of Pope Francis’s visit. The mix of contemporary songs and sacred music combine to make this album a uniquely inspirational collection, with stunning music from acts like The Vard Sisters, The Priests, Red Hurley, Melanie McCabe, The O’Neill Sisters, Jack L, Robert Mizzell, The Palestrina Choir and The Celtic Tenors.
While running a record company is a busy occupation, Katie and Paul love going out for dinner and going on holidays together. While they are still clearly madly in love, they are also the best of friends, which Paul says is a great basis for a relationship. “I always say to people that you should be friends with someone first and then see if things develop into a more passionate affair, because you can have lots of passionate relationships without much friendship there,” he says. “Katie and I always got on so well that getting together felt very natural when it happened.” ‘An Irish Welcome’, in celebration of the visit of Pope Francis, is available from Tesco, Golden Discs and record shops nationwide, and online for €14.95 from www.essentialirish.com
‘Katie laughs at all my jokes and there’s a real togetherness’