A Letterkenny couple will have a quiet celebration to mark their golden wedding anniversary at home today, Saturday.
Eddie and Catherine Taggart, Thorn Road, had planned big celebrations with their three daughters, their husbands and ten grandchildren but like many, they have had to be paused due to the pandemic.
While they will be physically alone on Saturday, family and friends have been kept busy this week sending video messages of love, celebration and support for the landmark anniversary.
A native of the Rosses, Eddie went to Galway to college to study Irish and French. It was while there as a student that he first met Galway woman Catherine (nee Tannian) in the Skyline Ballroom (where Galway Crystal in now situated) in the early sixties.
Eddie took up employment in PCC Falcarragh in 1967 before moving to Letterkenny and becoming a teacher in the Old Tech, Ard O’Donnell, before it moved to High Road and became Errigal College. He retired in 2007.
It is shared interests that have helped them stay married for 50 years now, following their wedding at Galway Cathedral on October 3, 1970 when Catherine was aged 26 and Eddie 27.
The couple have three daughters Elaine, who lives in Maynooth and works as a Project Manager with Google; Sheila works with AbbVie in Sligo while Nicola lives in Ballyraine Park, Letterkenny, and works with the ETB.
“Because of Covid-19 and Level 3 we are a bit disappointed that we cannot celebrate with our family this weekend. However, it is for the benefit of the whole county and community that we are in lockdown. We all have to take precautions and follow the guidelines and there will be an opportunity to celebrate at some stage in the future,” Eddie said.
This weekend they’ll have the laptop at the ready to take zoom calls from the grandchildren.
“The girls would probably have had some plans for us but they kept those to themselves,” he said.
Active in the local community, Eddie was involved in fund-raising for the Church of the Irish Martyrs and would have helped with the basket collection down through the years. Today he is a Eucharistic Minister.
The youngest members of their respective families, Eddie has one sister while Catherine is from a family of eleven.
“We’ve been very lucky health wise. The garden helped us from getting cabin fever this year while we also enjoy walks along the Thorn Road.
“We’ll have a quiet day on Saturday but, hopefully, we’ll get the chance to let our hair down after in the year,” he said.
Receive quality journalism wherever you are, on any device. Keep up to date from the comfort of your own home with a digital subscription.
Any time | Any place | Anywhere
SUBSCRIBE TO CURRENT EDITION TODAY
and get access to our archive editions dating back to 2007(CLICK ON THE TITLE BELOW TO SUBSCRIBE)