The Bet
It was June 2015 at the Irish Derby at The Curragh. Kieran and his friend Timmons had put the last of their money on Jack Hobbs, with a very sensible plan: if he won, they would celebrate in Cunningham’s in Kildare. If he lost, they would retreat to Dublin and never speak of it again.
Before the race, Timmons fixed Kieran’s tie and declared:
“You’re going to meet your wife today.”
An ambitious prediction, considering Kieran had not even met Laura yet — and Laura was already at home with no intention of going anywhere.
The Meeting
Luckily, her cousin Ruth refused to accept that ending. She turned the car around, arrived back at Laura’s house and told her to throw some clothes into a bag. After the appropriate amount of protesting, Laura did what she was told.
Jack Hobbs won. Cunningham’s it was. And, clearly on a winning streak, Kieran set his sights on a fine filly from Blackrock.
Laura’s first thought was that Kieran looked like Nathan Carter. They bonded over Leslie Nielsen, continued the evening in Tigerlilies and, by the end of the night, were already holding hands.
Not quite a glass slipper, but close enough.
The Proposal
Their story since then has been filled with laughter, good craic and a healthy amount of last-minute decision-making. Laura is the planner, plotter and enthusiastic schemer; Kieran is the easy-going one, usually happy to see where her latest idea leads.
He affectionately calls her Larry or George, after Larry David and George Costanza — a loving tribute to the wonderfully excitable and slightly neurotic qualities he noticed from the very beginning.
Years later, Kieran planned his proposal during a trip to Disney. Laura nearly spoiled the moment several times by rooting through the bag in search of crisps, but four days into the holiday, after a day at Animal Kingdom, he finally managed to surprise her completely.
For Laura, there was only ever one way to get married: with everyone she loved in one room, dressed for a ball, counting down to midnight.
After all, when your love story begins with a winning bet, you may as well go all in.
And as the clock strikes twelve, they’ll begin the new year as husband and wife — all because Jack Hobbs came in, and, against all odds, Timmons was right.
