Rory married Erica a day earlier than we all imagined
IT was the biggest and most private celebrity wedding of the year – and now it seems that golfer Rory McIlroy even managed to hide the day on which he got married.
Documents confirm the four-time major champion and fiancé Erica Stoll were married on Friday, April 21st – despite it being widely believed that it went ahead at Ashford Castle the next day.
The Irish Mail On Sunday obtained the marriage certificate of McIlroy and Stoll, which showed that the newlyweds had officially said ‘I do’ on the Friday instead of the Saturday.
Best man at the wedding was amateur golfer and longtime friend of the legendary sporting star, Harry Diamond, with Erica’s sister, Natalie Luong, chosen as her maid of honour.
There was speculation from locals that the wedding had taken place on the Friday, with two fishermen telling the MoS that they had heard superstar Stevie Wonder playing a set on the grounds of the castle for 90 minutes that night. One of the men, Thomas Ryan, said he could hear crowds of people cheering in between the songs on Friday night. ‘He played a really long set. It ended just after 10pm,’ Mr Ryan added.
The newlyweds opted to have a civil ceremony instead of a traditional wedding, enlisting a female registrar or solemniser, named Maura Monaghan, to carry out the service in Ashford Castle. Mrs Monaghan has been a registered solemniser with the HSE in Co. Mayo since 2010. When contacted by the MoS for confirmation as to whether she had officiated the wedding, she said: ‘I can make no comment on that matter.’
McIlroy has made every effort to keep details of the wedding as secret as possible. Hundreds of security staff were drafted into the Cong area, the likes of which had not been seen there since the visit of former US president Ronald Reagan in 1984.
In an attempt to prevent onlookers from viewing the wedding, private security officials were stationed at all entrances to the sprawling estate outside Cong village, and access beyond the outer limits was strictly by special security wrist band only.