Pierce and Keely's Wedding
Pierce Brosnan and Keely Shaye Smith were married on August 4, 2001, at Ballintubber
Abbey in County Mayo in Ireland. The wedding reception will be held on the grounds
of Ashford Castle outside of Cong on Lough Corrin.
News on the Wedding
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FOR THEIR EYES ONLY
Actor Pierce Brosnan's nuptials to television reporter Keely Shaye Smith went off without a hitch Saturday, as the 007 star exchanged vows in a romantic ceremony held at an 800-year-old Irish abbey in County Mayo.
To keep the celebration exclusive, the couple hired an army of security officers to keep fans and a slew of journalists away.
The only glimpse lookie-loos caught of bride and groom was when Brosnan showed up for the late-afternoon ceremony in a dark Mercedes-Benz and briefly waved to the crowd before being whisked inside the church. Smith, who wore a beaded Richard Tyler-designed dress, was kept hidden from the media after arriving in a white Rolls-Royce limousine adorned with a white ribbon.
The secrecy wasn't just about privacy. The couple signed an exclusive deal with a yet-unnamed magazine that paid them nearly $1 million to publish the wedding photos. That no doubt paid for more than a few cheese puffs at the reception. (Attention Ammo chefs: Cheese tastes great stuffed in Magnum clips.) (Philadelphia Inquirer, Aug. 6)
'JAMES BOND' MARRIES, BREAKS HIS OWN VOWS
Used to be one other certain thing in life besides death and taxes. An unmarried James Bond.
Not anymore. James Bond star Pierce Brosnan and Keely Shaye Smith exchanged wedding vows Saturday at an 11th-century abbey nestled in the emerald hills of western Ireland.
Who would have thought the world's most renowned Lothario would hitch. Couldn't he have slipped the knot?
Anyway, several hundred onlookers and about 30 members of the press crowded the sides of the small street leading up to Ballintubber Abbey in hopes of getting a glimpse of the couple.
Bond's Secret Service must have planned the affair because security used massive white sheets to preserve the exclusive photo rights of a celebrity magazine.
The sheets were thrown up when the bride and groom arrived separately before the service, and again as they left together in a white Rolls-Royce. But the newlyweds tossed a few crumbs of publicity to the press as they cracked the rear window and waved when the car drove off. (Knight Ridder, Aug. 6)
Bond Star Brosnan Gets Married
BALLINTUBBER, Ireland - James Bond star Pierce Brosnan and Keely Shaye Smith exchanged
wedding vows Saturday at an 11th-century abbey nestled in the emerald hills of western Ireland.
The bride and groom arrived separately at Ballintubber Abbey before the service, and left together in a white Rolls-Royce. The newlyweds cracked the rear window and waved as the car drove off.
Several hundred onlookers crowded the sides of the small street leading up to the abbey in hopes of getting a glimpse of the couple, but security officials used massive white sheets to preserve the exclusive photo rights of a celebrity magazine.
The reception was being held 20 miles away at 800-year-old Ashford Castle. Brosnan
had visited the castle with his late wife Cassandra Harris, who died in 1991.
An episode of the Irish-born actor's former television series, Remington
Steele, was also filmed there.
Few details of the reception were known. Castle staff signed confidentiality agreements, but reports said traditional Irish band The Chieftains and an Irish dance troupe were expected to perform.
Brosnan, 48, met Smith, 36, a former correspondent for the television program Entertainment Tonight, at a fund-raising event for the protection of California gray whales.
The couple has two sons: Dylan, 4, and 5-month-old Paris, who was baptized Friday at Ballintubber Abbey.
Brosnan and Smith had planned to marry in May but postponed the wedding after Brosnan's 16-year-old son Sean was seriously injured in a car accident.
Hello! magazine purchased the rights to the wedding photos for an undisclosed sum. (AP, Aug. 4)
WEDDING BELLS II
James Bond star Pierce Brosnan will finally wed fiancee Keely Shaye Smith in Ireland tomorrow. ItŐs taken them awhile to get to the altar, after announcing their engagement in October 1999. Now they have two children to include in the ceremony. They were originally set to wed last spring but postponed their nuptials after Sean Brosnan, PierceŐs 17-year-old son from his first marriage, was seriously injured in a car accident.
The ceremony is scheduled to take place inside the 800-year-old Ballintubber Abbey, and then the couple and more than 100 guests will celebrate with a reception at the lavish Ashford Castle.
Smith will wear a gown by designer Richard Tyler, and itŐs reported that the Irish-born Brosnan intends to toast his new bride not with champagne, but with Guinness ale. Pull a pint for us, guys. Cheers! (AP, Aug. 1)
Ancient Irish venue tipped for 007's secret service
DUBLIN, Ireland (Reuters) - James Bond actor Pierce Brosnan is expected to marry former model and
TV reporter Keely Shaye Smith in Ireland Saturday in a ceremony shrouded in secrecy.
No details about the wedding have been made public, but the couple are widely
expected to tie the knot at 800-year-old Ballintubber Abbey, in County Mayo,
western Ireland
Staff at the abbey were referring callers to Brosnan's London publicist, who refused to comment on the
star's plans, even declining to confirm the wedding would take place at all, despite press reports about the
nuptials.
After the service, the couple are expected to hold a reception at Ashford Castle hotel in the village of Cong,
a grand Victorian setting on the site of a 13th-century castle overlooking the River Cong and Lough Corrib.
One local hotelier told Reuters the 007 star was spotted in Cong -- location of the 1951 John Wayne movie
The Quiet Man -- earlier this month finalizing his plans.
Shaye Smith was snapped by photographers boarding a flight at Heathrow Airport
Tuesday and told reporters that her wedding dress was designed by Richard Tyler,
hinting that the dress was hidden among her baggage for the flight.
Founded in 1216 by Cathal O'Connor, King of Connaught, Ballintubber Abbey lays claim to being the
oldest church in Ireland to have been in continual use.
A report in the Irish Star tabloid Thursday said security staff would erect a giant awning around the
entrance to the abbey to protect the exclusive picture deal Brosnan is reported to have struck with a glossy
magazine.
Previous patrons at the 83-room hotel have included former President Reagan, Britain's King George V,
Princess Grace of Monaco, and movie stars Brad Pitt, John Travolta, Robin Williams and Sharon Stone.
Brosnan, 49, the current screen incarnation of British secret agent James Bond, met American Shaye
Smith, 36, when she interviewed him in Mexico in 1994.
The couple have two sons together, Dylan, four, and Paris, who was born in February. Brosnan's first
wife, Cassandra, 41, died in 1990 from ovarian cancer.(Reuters, Aug. 2)
Bond star to marry in 'Quiet Man' church -report
DUBLIN (Reuters) - James Bond star Pierce Brosnan is to marry fiancee Keely Shaye Smith in an Irish
church that featured in the 1951 John Wayne movie ``The Quiet Man'' it was reported on Monday.
The Roman Catholic ceremony will take place at St. Mary's Church in Cong, in western Ireland, in the
grounds of the exclusive Ashford Castle Hotel where the reception is being held, the Irish Examiner
newspaper said.
Widower Brosnan, the current screen incarnation of British super-agent 007, twice postponed the wedding
to Smith, 36, last year after his teen-age son Sean suffered spinal injuries in a traffic accident.
Brosnan, 49, born in Navan, north of Dublin, is reported to have signed a six-figure contract with Hello!
magazine for exclusive pictures of the August 4 wedding. (Reuters, July 9)
Hello! Magazine (UK) will have the exclusive photos.
The Locations
Balintubber Abbey
Ballintubber Abbey is an 800-year-old church located in Claremorris, County Mayo in western Ireland. It was built in 1216 by King Cathel O'Conor near the site of a church St. Patrick built in 441. The abbey has survived fires and other damage and has been dubbed "the abbey that refused to die." It is the longest-used royal abbey in Ireland.
Ashford Castle
Ashford Castle was built in 1228 and sold in the 1850s to Benjamin Lee Guinness
of the famed Guinness family, makers of the famous Guinness beer that is a signature
drink of Ireland. The 12th-century castle lies on the shores of Lough Corrib
just outside Galway City and Cong in County Mayo. The castle now serves as a
five-star hotel and boast such amenities as horseback riding, gourmet dining,
golfing, boat rides on the lake and tours of the castle.
Ironically, Pierce's television series Remington
Steele ended its run at Ashford Castle. The final two-hour movie, Steeled
With a Kiss, was set in the castle.