Love for Kildare couple bloomed at Stone Roses gig

Damien Clarke & Pamela Benson

Although they’re both from Leixlip, Co Kildare, Damien, who works in IT, and primary-school teacher Pamela who married last July, didn’t know each other until they met at a 2012 Stone Roses gig in the Phoenix Park.

After a proposal in the grounds of Castletown House, the couple set about planning a “no-fuss” wedding.

A priority for Damien, one of five siblings, and Pamela, from a family of four, was that their loved ones “really got to enjoy every minute of the day”. They exchanged vows in St Mochta’s Church in Porterstown, where the groom’s parents – Paddy and Margaret – and his grandparents had also been married.

The bride’s parents are George and Pat and sticking to the relaxed feeling of the day, both she and Damien went without an official wedding party.

Instead, their sisters Louise and Caroline acted as witnesses and their brothers, Barry, Alan and Patrick, did readings and “generally ensured everything went smoothly on the day!”.

Ring-bearing duties were fulfilled by the groom’s god-daughter Siofra, his mother made the cake and Pamela’s sister Lorraine arranged the flowers.

After the ceremony, the newlyweds took off to Farmleigh for photographs before joining their guests on the sunny terrace at The Angler’s Rest in the Strawberry Beds.

Pamela and Damian honeymooned in South Africa.

Photography: Alan Graham