Keelin Riley & Darren Horan
Keelin Riley & Darren Horan
Dingle Skellig Hotel, Dingle, Co. Kerry
Dingle Skellig Hotel, Dingle, Co. Kerry
Photos courtesy of Padraig Healy Photography
Keelin Riley and Darren Horan first met over ten years ago while on a J1 visa in Ocean City, Maryland, USA. Working as lifeguards in a waterpark, their love story started as a summer romance and is still going strong to this day.
The pair got engaged in 2021 in Keelin’s hometown, Arklow. While they were out walking their dog on a local beach, Darren got down on one knee and produced a ring. Knowing that Keelin loves a good party, he had arranged for family and friends to be waiting with champagne ready upon their return home. had previously married Keelin’s brother and his wife. The happy couple included a sand ceremony in their wedding, which entailed them mixing sand from the beach near her hometown – where Darren had proposed – with sand from Darren’s local beach near Castlemaine in Kerry. This symbolic act represented the blending of their families together through their marriage. The couple’s first
Keelin and Darren were married on April 21, 2023, at the Dingle Skellig Hotel where they had an intimate civil ceremony. The celebrant, Billy Hutchinson, dance was held outside at night and surrounded by sparklers - a ‘magical’ moment they say they will never forget.
How was your experience with Dingle Skellig Hotel?
“We got engaged on a Saturday, viewed the Dingle Skellig the following Saturday and paid our deposit on the spot! We did not need to see any other venue; we were so sure of the Skellig. Everything from the scenery to the food, the staff and the overall ambiance was just spectacular. We had our ceremony in their new Sláidín venue with floor-to-ceiling windows that looked out over Dingle Bay which was just stunning. The staff went above and beyond and learned all our family members’ names. We also got incredibly positive feedback from our guests on the food.” dingleskellig.com
