SHANE TIES THE KNOT
30 December 2003 – Westlife member Shane Filan and his new wife, Gillian Walsh, may be Sligo natives but their wedding was a real Mayo celebration. The celebrity couple chose Mayo’s Ballintubber Abbey and Ashford Castle as the venue for their special day but it’s not surprising when one considers their strong links with the country. The groom’s mother Mrs Mai Filan was a native of Kiltimagh. She was a member of the McNicholas family of Ballyglass, and her brother, Billy, still lives and farms at the original homestead.
Gillian Walsh’s Mayo connections are on her father’s side of the family. Father of the bride, Michael Walsh, hails from Corroy, Ballina. He is a son of the late Joe and Nelly Walsh and grew up in Derrygullinane, Corroy. He had three sisters – Mrs Josephine Sweeney, who lives in Knockmore, Mrs Phylis Monaghan, Curra-baggan, Knockmore and Mrs Kathleen Thornton, now living in Cork. Of course the other Mayo name of note on the wedding list was Westlife manager Louis Walsh, who also hails from Kiltimagh
Over 200 devoted Westlife fans waited outside the grounds of the historical Ballintubber Abbey on Sunday last to watch the happy couple arrive and depart from the ceremony. Afterwards over 350 guests accompanied the newlyweds to Ashford Castle in Cong for the lavish wedding reception.
Source: Western People


Westlife Singer Shane Filan Weds Childhood Sweetheart
29 December 2003: Westlife singer Shane Filan married his childhood sweetheart yesterday, and says he's "the luckiest guy in the world".
The Mandy star wed Gillian Walsh at Ballintubber Abbey, County Mayo, Ireland in a ceremony attended by Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern and his four bandmates.
And nervous Shane joked with fellow Westlife stars Kian Egan and Mark Feehily when the bride arrived slightly late.
Shane says, "Looking at Gillian at the altar was the best moment of my life. I was welling up during the service.
"I feel like the luckiest guy in the world. It was great to go out there and wave to the fans and also see all our friends and family enjoying our big day.
"Gillian felt like a princess and looked like one too."
Source: contactmusic.com


Shane and Gillian Marry in Mayo
Westlife singer Shane Filan, wed his childhood sweetheart Gillian Walsh yesterday in a romantic ceremony in the 800 year old Ballintubber Abbey amongst their friends and family.
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Usually a Westlife wedding is a high tech security operation with Hello! or OK magazine trying to protect their photographic rights to the big day". Going against celebrity tradition Shane Filan instead wanted a special day for his true love Gillian and waved goodbye to the million euro offers from magazines and opting for a day open to family, friends and fans
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And it was such a better day for it… Shane and his bride openly posed for photographs as did their celebrity pals, everyone was in great form with the dedicated Westlife fans who made the trip to the wet Mayo village.
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Guests at the wedding included Ronan and Yvonne Keating, Kerry and Bryan McFadden, Louis Walsh, Bertie and Miriam Ahern, Nicky and Georgina Byrne, Kian Egan’s actress girlfriend Jodi Albert.
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Shane’s groomsmen included two of his bandmates Kian and Mark. The wedding reception was held in Ashford Castle.
29 December 2003. Source ShowBizIreland.com


Shane Ties The Knot With His Westwife
28 December 2003: Westlife star Shane Filan has broken the hearts of legions of female fans by finally marrying his childhood sweetheart, Gillian Walsh.After shunning an exclusive magazine deal for photos of the big day, the couple braved the cold and rain to greet around 200 fans outside historic Ballintubber Abbey in County Mayo.
Later, more than 350 guests - including Ronan Keating and Shane's fellow band members - travelled to the nearby Ashford Castle hotel to celebrate the marriage.
The happy couple both wore white outfits.
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Shane popped the question while he and Gillian were on holiday together in Dubai last year.
The Westlifer's elder brother Finbar acted as best man at the ceremony in the abbey, which dates back to the 13th century.
Music at the wedding party was reportedly not provided by the Irish group. Instead, Shane was understood to have laid on another band, complete with its own DJ.
It was the first Westlife wedding since last summer when Nicky Byrne married Georgina, one of Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern's two daughters, in a French village.
This time, there was no tie-up with a celebrity magazine that made the French wedding so controversial back home for the premier.
Source: news.sky.com


Shane and Gillian to marry
Popstar Shane Filan reaches high notes for a living, yet nothing could beat the high he got when girlfriend Gillian Walsh said yes to his proposal of marriage. The setting, on a Dubai beach on Christmas Day last was romantic and intimate. As Shane (25) proposed to his girlfriend of three years, the Filan family were busy getting ready for the festivities at home in Carraroe. A source close to the Filan family said: “We got all the family together for the announcement on Christmas Day. We are absolutely thrilled. Obviously we had no idea but we did expect it eventually”.
Wedding plans have not been finalised yet as the couple are still deciding where to tie the knot. The wedding will take place next year and is expected to be a big family affair. Shane isn’t the only family member who is planning to walk down the aisle. The source said: “Two of his siblings got engaged also, one in September and one in October. They will marry in 2004. It’s going to be a hectic time in the months ahead”. Shane’s older brother Liam got wed earlier this year. Shane and his wife-to-be, Gillian, were there. Gillian said: We went to Shane’s brother Liam’s wedding this year and it was lovely. We had a great day at it”.
Shane and Gillian, a native of Maugheraboy, have known each other since early childhood. One of the first productions the couple starred in was Grease when it was staged in Summerhill College five years ago. Grease saw three members of the cast come together and form Westlife. But it also started one of the biggest love stories in pop. Shane played Kenickie and Gillian played Frenchie in what became a hit, in more ways than one.
Gillian said: “I’ve known Shane since we were 10 years old. I’ve known him well for the past seven and we are going out together for the last three”. But the Westlife star is not the only part of this duo that has musical talents. “I’ve been singing and dancing from a very young age. I love it. I still dance but I leave the singing up to him”. Gillian graduated this year with a Business Studies degree from Sligo’s Institute of Technology. She is taking time out to consider her career and now plan her wedding. “I’m taking a bit of time out to decide what to do career wise. It’s also giving me a chance to spend more time with Shane”.
Gillian decided to take up some part-time work in Morgan on Castle Street, a clothes shop run by Shane and his older sister Mairead. “I love working here. It also gives Mairead (Shane’s sister) or any of the other girls a chance to take time off and I can stand in. “Me and my mum Rosaleen have bought a couple of things in there. Sligo needed a shop like it”. No doubt she will be calling in on the fashion house for some ideas for her big day.
Source: Sligo Weekender 31 December 2002


SHANE GETS SERIOUS AND A FERRARI
27 August 2002 – There may not be a wedding yet for Shane Filan, the lead singer with Ireland’s Westlife. But he is getting ready to make some serious moves on his long term girlfriend Gillian Walsh.
Speaking to ShowBiz Ireland recently at the Kerrygold Dublin show, Shane explained that marriage may still be a bit away for him but moving in together is just around the corner. “Myself and Gillian have no plans to marry just yet. But, I have just built a new house for my parents and I guess one for the two of us will be next on my list. It may have to wait for a while as I’ve just spent loads of money on a new car along with Nicky and Bryan from the band. We all got new Ferraris. They picked up theirs last month but I just picked up my new black Ferrari 575 Marenello”.
He went on, “Gillian and myself only flew in from Mexico, where we were on holiday for the past two weeks. We came back so I could watch my brother Liam. He is competing today in the jumps for the Horseshow. We have loads of horses down home in Sligo and my family are big in to jumping so it had been a family tradition of our for years, to come to the horseshow.
Source: www.ShowBizIreland.com