‘She has brought happiness into my life' – Dr Tony Holohan weds Ciara Cronin

Sunday World

09-06-2025

The couple are off to France for a few weeks of rest and time together
'It was a beautiful day from start to finish,' is how Dr Tony Holohan described his wedding yesterday to Ciara Cronin.
'We were surrounded by our families and closest friends. Ciara has a wonderful relationship with my children, Clodagh and Ronan — so it felt natural that Ronan was our best man and Ciara's sister, Elaine, was our best woman.'
The couple tied the knot at the National Maritime Museum in Dún Laoghaire in an intimate ceremony surrounded by family and friends.
The bride wore a beautiful floral- patterned silk shift dress by Dolce & Gabbana and carried a bouquet of red roses. The groom looked dapper in a navy suit.
Tony Holohan, a medic who became a national figure when serving as chief medical officer during the Covid crisis, and Ciara Cronin, a mindfulness-based ­psychotherapist, began a relationship in 2023 — two- and-a-half years after the death of his wife Dr Emer Feely.
The two doctors were married for more than 20 years, and Emer was diagnosed with multiple myeloma —an incurable cancer — in 2012.
In the acknowledgements to his book, We Need To Talk — a book dedicated to 'Emer, Clodagh and Ronan, with love' — he said that he wants 'to tell Emer's story. So much of my career has been very public, but I was never on my own in any of it. Emer was with me through it all.'
In the bestselling memoir, he also wrote: 'Ciara has given me the strength, belief and courage to write what I have. She has brought sunshine and happiness into my life, and has done so for Clodagh and Ronan too. I feel blessed and privileged to have her in my life.'
​One of the many tough conversations he and Emer had in the years between diagnosis and death concerned future relationships.
Emer helped me to see myself moving on after her death
'She brought it up maybe half a dozen times over the course of her illness,' he wrote. 'She wanted to hear me say that I was open to the idea of another relationship, and for me to know she hoped this for me.
'We knew how much we loved each other... but she insisted I had to let her express herself. She wanted to talk about her hopes that I would meet somebody and enjoy a future with someone else.'
This meant that when he did meet Ciara, the possibility of finding love again had already been considered.
Ciara Cronin and Tony Holohan tied the knot at the National Maritime Museum in Dún Laoghaire on Saturday. Photo: Mike Mulcaire
'Emer helped me to see myself moving on after her death by being clear in her wishes for me — and now that I am with Ciara, I feel grateful...
'Telling Clodagh and Ronan was always going to be a sensitive moment — but because Emer had written down her thoughts, and they had read what she had written, I was able to talk to them easily and openly.'
The hardship of the pandemic was universal. Within that, every one of us had our own specific challenges. For Tony Holohan, then chief medical officer and chair of Nphet (the National Public Health Emergency Team), these challenges were a mix of the professional and the private.
Ciara Cronin and Tony Holohan on their wedding day. Photo: Mike Mulcaire
Today's News in 90 Seconds - 09 June 2025
There was the immense responsibility of making huge decisions that affected the well-being and livelihood of the entire country — and then, on a personal level, there was the worry of living with a loved one who was utterly vulnerable.
Emer had to isolate ­completely — even from siblings and parents. Clodagh and Ronan also had to severely limit their social interactions in order to protect her.
In fact, every single one of the recommendations made by Nphet — for the country as a whole — were played out within the Holohan family, with the highest possible stakes.
More than three years on from the easing of Covid restrictions, there is a brand new chapter in Holohan's life. Following the wedding, the couple are, he says, 'off to France for a few weeks of rest and time together'.