Wedding of the Week: Ukrainian and Irish traditions blended in humanist ceremony

Irish Examiner

31-05-2025

Love overcame language barriers as guests congratulated Maryna Pidhorna and David Connolly after a humanist ceremony that blended Ukrainian and Irish traditions.
The traditional 'rushnyk' [ritual cloth] from the bride's homeland featured as the couple exchanged vows in the Greenhills Hotel in Limerick city.
Maryna, from Kyiv, and David, from Limerick, were wed by celebrant Billy Mag Fhloinn and held their reception in the same venue.
Maryna Pidhorna and David Connolly. Pictures: Joe Diggins Photography
'It was absolutely fabulous, the unity of our cultures integrated within the ceremony was very special,' says the bride, a childcare assistant.
Maryna and David, a carer, professional football coach and intermediary, first met on a night out in Tipperary town in February 2023.
Maryna Pidhorna and David Connolly. Pictures: Joe Diggins Photography
'Things progressed to our dating regularly from there — cinema, a Ukrainian performance of 'Swan Lake' at the University of Limerick, dinner and dancing, travelling to beaches, wine and falling in love,' she says. David popped the question before the year's end.
'We got engaged on December 5, 2023, in the very first restaurant we dined out together, La Candela, in Tipperary town,' he says.
Maryna Pidhorna and David Connolly. Pictures: Joe Diggins Photography
Maryna had first visited Ireland as a Chernobyl child in the 1980s, staying in Co Cork. Fleeing war in Ukraine she returned to Blarney in 2022 with her sister and their young children, where she made many more friends, among them Kate Durrant and Val Kirby, before Maryna had to relocate to Limerick.
Kate and Val were overjoyed when invitations to Maryna and David's wedding dropped through their letterboxes.
Val Kirby and Kate Durrant with bride Maryna Pidhorna.
'As 'Chernobyl children', Maryna had been part of the Rest and Recuperation summer programme that brought Ukrainian children to Ireland to give them respite from the toxic fallout of the nuclear disaster,' says Kate.
Three years ago, when Kate encountered Maryna, she saw a woman who swiftly 'put her own needs aside to offer her services in the local hospital as a translator, easing the burden on her fellow countrymen and women receiving treatment'.
Maryna Pidhorna and David Connolly with Deanna, Zhenia and Tristan. Pictures: Joe Diggins Photography
Maryna and her sister, she adds, 'enrolled their children in our local schools and clubs, helping out in any way they could', before housing constraints forced another move.
'It was a tough transition, not that they complained, but relocating their families to yet another school, and a new soccer club for Maryna's talented, and football-mad, teenage son, was another bump on their already rocky road,' says Kate.
Maryna Pidhorna and Deanna Connolly. Pictures: Joe Diggins Photography
'We stayed in touch and were thrilled when she told us she had fallen in love, even more so when we received photographs of her new baby.'
On her big day, the bride wore a glamorous Missacc gown and did her own makeup, with her hair styled by Limerick hairstylist Jess McGrath. The groom and his party bought their suits at Dave Mc's Menswear, Tipperary.
David Connolly made his entrance with their sons Zhenia and Tristan. Pictures: Joe Diggins Photography
For his entrance music, David chose the theme song of Ukrainian world boxing champion Oleksandr Usyk.
'David was accompanied by our two sons, Zhenia and Tristan,' says Maryna.
Maryna Pidhorna and David Connolly. Pictures: Joe Diggins Photography
'My entrance music was the Ukrainian song Pal lal lal and I was accompanied by our daughter Deanna and my sister Larissa.'
Maryna's mother, Galina, and David's dad, Andrew, were present, and the professional duo Niall and Louise, also relatives of the groom, provided the music.
Maryna Pidhorna and David Connolly. Pictures: Joe Diggins Photography
'We had a fantastic mime performance by Mike and Richie with three female backup dancers that lit up the crowd,' says Maryna.
Joe Diggins ( joedigginsphotography.com) was behind the lens.
Maryna Pidhorna and David Connolly. Pictures: Joe Diggins Photography
The couple, who will live in Knocklong, Co Limerick, honeymooned in Portugal.
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