Last Friday, April 8, Irish boxer Kellie Harrington wed her girlfriend Mandy Loughlin in a wonderful ceremony which took place in Dublin. The couple had been together since 2009 before finally deciding to take the step. 

Harrington is an Irish boxer in the lightweight division and has been described multiple times as a “national treasure”. Last year, she won a gold medal at the Tokyo Olympic Games, causing a massive outpour of support from her Irish fans and especially from her local community in Portland Row.

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The sport that is defining so much of her professional life also brought her together with the love of her life, as Kellie Harrington met Mandy Loughlin at a boxing club in Bray 13 years ago. The couple has been together ever since, and the love and support they share have always been apparent. On the occasion of Kellie’s participation in the Olympic Games last year, Mandy spoke about her partner, saying: “It’s so rare to find everything that Kellie has, together. I don’t know how she has the energy to spread herself around the way she does.”

Their plans to marry were announced by Kellie herself in January this year, when she took to Instagram sharing that, “Wedding planning for a wedding that is 3 months away is definitely STRESSFUL.” She added: “No venue, Not a stitch of clothes. Not knowing who to invite or where to bloody start. When people said planning a wedding is stressful I never believed it till now.”

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Though stressful, all that planning seems to have turned into a delightful wedding reception, as evidenced by all the photos and videos shared by attendees. The pair looks overjoyed while laughing and dancing with all their friends and family at The Old Spot in Dublin, where the reception took place.

Fans have also shown their support and their joy for the wedding on socials, with many congratulating the couple and wishing them happiness. One of them tweeted: “What a wonderful photo! When I was growing up, this option wasn’t open to any gay woman (or man) I knew. Actually, I rarely even know they were gay. Most hid their sexuality. Let’s never allow Ireland to regress back to those horrible dark days.”