A few jokes and a thank you here and there doesn’t cut the mustard for an Irish best man these days, it seems.
We’re not sure when exactly it all started but best men at weddings all over Ireland are really raising the bar when it comes to wedding speeches these days.
Earlier on in this week, we had the brilliant short film from the Mulligan brothers in Charlestown, while in the past we’ve featured a fantastic Father Ted-inspired effort from Cork and a hilarious video from a rally-driving groom and best man combination.
Last night, we were sent in yet another inspired effort from Shane Conlon, who was the best man for the wedding of his best friend Martin Kilbride (a Ballyhaunis man, originally from Tipperary) and his new wife Siobhán (from Ballinlough in Roscommon), which took place in the Landmark Hotel in Carrick on Shannon last Saturday.
Shane was only home from Canada for five days for the wedding, yet with the help of cameraman Adrian Lilly, he managed to find the time to shoot epic footage of his quest for the best man’s speech, which he left behind in a pub well known to the bride and groom and the guests at the wedding.
To get there, he had to go by foot, by bike, by horse and by driving a fully restored 1967 David Brown 880 tractor through locations familiar to the guests in Leitrim, Roscommon and Mayo. On the way he had to sink numerous pints – including the ones that formed a Father Ted style obstacle – before eventually returning to the Landmark Hotel with a pint for himself and the groom to lap up the acclaim of the audience after his nine-minute masterpiece.
Shane, who, to his credit, sent us on exact details of his route that were probably a little too detailed to include here, assures us that it was all done in one take and if you can’t quite recognise the background music, we can tell you that the tracks used were the themes from Dogtanian and the Three Muskiehounds, the Superman theme and the theme from The Lone Ranger.
We’re sure you’ll agree it was a quite brilliant effort and just one more reason to make it a day to remember for the happy couple, for Shane himself and for everyone who attended.
Well done to all involved.
LISTEN: You Must Be Jokin’ with Aideen McQueen – Faith healers, Coolock craic and Gigging as Gaeilge
