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

westlife

17-10-05 news EXCLUSIVE WITH PHOTOSWestlife Back Bigger & Better...
If you happened to catch The Late Late Show last Friday you probably realised that Irish boyband Westlife are making a comeback to pop charts and look set to dominate...
WESTLIFE @ THE LATE LATE SHOW
Since Brian McFadden walked out on Westlife many people thought it would be the end of the band but with a new album, Face to Face, a new single, You Raise Me Up, and a new eagerness for No. 1 records Shane, Nicky, Kian and Mark are going to be around for a while yet...
WESTLIFE @ THE LATE LATE SHOW
Shane Filan is now a father, Nicky Byrne is hinting that Georgina and he may be following suit soon, Mark Feehily has come-out as gay and in a strong relationship, and Kian Egan is so in love with girlfriend Jodi Albert that we wouldn't be surprised if he proposed to her in the coming months...
NICKY & GEORGINA @ THE LATE LATE SHOW
And from what we witnessed from the Pat Kenny interview at the weekend the boys are very comfortable and confident with their position as the top boyband in the world, plus duets with Diana Ross and Michael Jackson coming up there is no doubt that they will break all records for the most No.1 records in history!

WELCOME to : WESTLIFE IRELAND

Hi, How's the craic, and WELCOME to WESTLIFE IRELAND. If you haven't seen these guys before--prepare to fallin Love--and if you HAVE--read on to find out more about them!! Westlife are: Nicky, Shane, Bryan, Kian and Mark To find out more about these guys, click on the above picture, to take you into WESTLIFE IRELAND!!! Don't forget to check out my EXCLUSIVE interview with Westlife from August 1998!!!!! This site is part the Irish Pop Online sites. This is THE VERY FIRST AND ORIGINAL Westlife site--going back to the early days when they were IOU...so remember, it's the Original and Best!!

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shane filan

SHANE FILAN!!

Shane Filan was born the baby of a family of seven to proud parents Peter and Mae on July 5th 1979, which means his big 21st is coming up this July!!!

He has always been interested in singing, ever since a young age, and has taken part in many musicals in Sligo. One of which was Grease (he performed in Grease at least twice) when Shane was just (bless him) 12 years old. He sang a duet with another girl, and ironically, was seen in the audience by a certain Mark Feehily who was very impressed!!!

Shane went on to Summerhill College Sligo, where he was the Captain of the Rugby Team, and very popular indeed. Since his family owned a stables, Shane was also mad into horses (if you get the official Westlife video it shows Shane in the stables). He was in the popgroup IOU who were the foundations to Westlife, and Walsh in the first place!! Shane went on after Summerhill College to its Thanks to his mother Mae that Westlife got in touch with Louis do an accounting course in Dublin, and left this once the great Westlife opportunity came along for IOU.

As well as the stables, Shane's family also run a cafe in Sligo town, the Carlton Cafe- which has to be the most publicised restaurant in the town at this stage, with girls travelling from all over just to see a part of the Westlife history!!

Out of everything, Shane hates Insects, and his favourite food is Spagetti!! (Easy to please!) His favourite football team are Liverpool, and his fave film is Titanic. Shane stands at a grand 5'9 tall.

In Westlife Shane tends to take the front seat, along with Mark, but that's not to say that the others don't get their solo spots.

I have met Shane tons of times at this stage,and I just want to let you all know that he is REALLY down to earth, and extremely friendly. He always makes time to say Hello to people who are waiting on him, and replies to most emails , even though he is so busy. I also know loads of people from Sligo , and they all think Shane is really sound. Sound, and gorgeous......mmmm-- perfect to take home to Mammy!

kian

KIAN EGAN!!!!!

Kian John Francis Egan was born on April 29th 1980. He was one of the founder/original members of Westlife, then known as IOU . (and before that as "6 as 1"!!!!!!)

Things with Westlife began to really take off during his Leaving Cert year, yet Kian stayed in School,- Summerhill College, to complete his exams.

Kian has been craving the limelight for years, and at the age of 16 became a strip-o-gram, though he claims to never have stripped past his underwear!!!

His hobbies include Snooker and Pitch and Putt. Kian has 3 brothers, and three sisters in his family, and his favouite food is Steak and Chips.

He supports Liverpool, and his music tastes are mainly chart stuff, such as BSB, Boyzone, and Five.

According to the others in the group, Kian is a real ladies man, and he has been caught out with a "Kiss and Tell" story or two to the news papers....something I'm sure didn't please their managers too much, as it meant him breaking their ridiculous rule of celibacy!!!

Kian is really sound, and can be a messer, or sometimes very serious. (see my interview with Westlife) but nothing will take from the fact that he is a lovely guy!!!!!

mark feehily

since 2nd October 1999 Mark lovers have been here

MARK FEEHILY!!!!!!!!

Mark Patrick Michael Feehily is from Sligo, in the North West of Ireland, home to three fifths of Westlife. He was one of the original members of the band, having come from the IOU line up.

A Cancerian, Mark was born on June 26th 1980. He joined Westlife before he finished school, but like the sensible boy he is, he stayed in his school, Summerhill College to complete his final exams!! According to Mark, if he wasn't in Westlife, he'd probably have repeated his exams, because he wasn't happy with the results. Poor Baby! Somehow I don't think the Leaving Cert is going to make much difference to his life from here on!!!! Career wise, he would like to have been a teacher or work with computers.

Mark's hobbies include Tennis (anyone West of the Shannon who plays tennis seems to know him really well) and also Football and Snooker.

His Ideal girl would have a good personality, be "deadly craic" but serious when she needs to be. (I can do that...........hint hint!) His Ideal date would be to go to a nice restaurant, followed by a nightclub........how sweet!!

Mark has two brothers in his family, Barry and Colm, both younger than him. His favourite football team are Liverpool, and he is into Comedy Films.

Mark's musical tastes vary from R n B to the Verve.... and Mark has a bit of an obsession with MARIAH CAREY!!!!

Apparently Mark is the shy one of the band, well I can't say that I find him shy!! He is so friendly and easy to talk to, one of those people who it seems like you've known them for ever!!!!

He has a deep soulful voice, easily the most recognisable in Westlife, and stunning good looks, complemented by his deep sky blue eyes. Mark Feehily is the meaning of the word " babe".!!!!!!

***** Goss from an old school friend of Mark's*****When Mark was in school he used to mess in class a lot, and when his teacher asked him what he wanted to do with his life, he would say, "I'm going to sing, sir" His teacher didn't believe him, and told him not to be stupid.... how wrong he was!!!!