29 december 2003-12-29 http://www.newsic.it/menunewsnow.asp?num=1612299848 Westlife a nozze Il cantante dei Westlife, Shane Filan, ha sposato la fidanzata, Gillian Walsh ... Il cantante dei Westlife, Shane Filan, ha sposato la fidanzata, Gillian Walsh, a County Mayo, in Irlanda. La cerimonia si è svolta nella storica Ballintubber Abbey e successivamente i festeggiamenti si sono spostati nello splendido castello/hotel Ashford. Sembra che Shane abbia chiesto la mano alla fidanzata durante le vacanze dell’anno scorso. (ef) (29 dicembre 2003) http://www.rte.ie/arts//2003/1229/westlife.html Westlife members join Shane for big day 29/12/2003 Westlife star weds at Ballintubber Westlife star Shane Filan married his childhood sweetheart Gillian Walsh at a lavish ceremony at Ballintubber Abbey yesterday. The couple were later joined by over 350 guests for a reception in Ashford Castle. Among those in attendance were the Taoiseach Bertie Ahern, Ronan Keating, Louis Walsh and the other members of Westlife. The bride arrived at the ceremony in a white horse-drawn carriage, to be greeted by about 200 fans who had waited to catch a glimpse of the wedding party. Shane's older brother Finbar acted as bestman for the ceremony at the 13th Century Abbey. http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/story.jsp?story=476764 Westlife star Shane ties the knot By Maureen Coleman mcoleman@belfasttelegraph.co.uk 29 December 2003 WESTLIFE'S Shane Filan was today preparing to jet off on honeymoon to Hawaii after marrying long- term girlfriend Gillian Walsh in a romantic winter wedding. Sligo-born Shane became the third member of the chart-topping Irish band to tie the knot when he exchanged vows with his childhood sweetheart yesterday. The pair wed at historic Ballintubber Abbey, but celebrated later in the luxurious lakeside splendour of the nearby Ashford Castle hotel. Shane popped the question while he and Gillian were on holiday together in Dubai last year. The Westlifer's elder brother Finbar acted as best man at the ceremony in Ballintubber Abbey, which dates back to the 13th century. Westlife's Kian Egan and Mark Feehily, who are also from Sligo, acted as groomsmen. More than 350 guests turned out to see the happy couple wed, including Taoiseach Bertie Ahern and wife Miriam, Louis Walsh, and Ronan Keating and wife Yvonne. The bride shone in a strapless embroidered white dress, while Shane wore a stylish cream suit. The groom endured a nervous half hour wait before Gillian arrived in a white horse-drawn carriage. Her five bridesmaids were driven to the country church in silver BMWs. After the ceremony, Shane and Gillian posed for photographs in the doorway of the church. The event marked the first Westlife wedding since last summer's occasion in a French, rather than an Irish village, when Nicky Byrne married Georgina, one of Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern's two daughters. Up to 200 noisy Westlife fans stood in the icy-cold but mainly bright weather outside the Abbey to catch a glimpse of their favourites and cheer them into and out of the church. Following the nuptial mass the happy couple and their guests journeyed to Ashford Castle, where they partied until 6am this morning. http://www.megastar.co.uk/meganews/news/2003/12/29/sMEG01MTA3MjY5NTIyOTk.html White wedding for Westlife Sid Billington Hello there. My name is Shane and I got married Christmas time wouldn't be complete without a Z-list wedding. And the end of the year honour goes to Westlife's Shane Filan. See the attached picture if you're not sure which one he is. Filan tied the knot to his childhood sweetheart Gillian Walsh on Sunday and both were wearing white, reports The Sun. Fascinating. The boyband attracted the usual set of fans who stood around in the rain to catch a glimpse of the 24-year-old and his pals. Westlife bandmates Kian Egan, Mark Feehily and Bryan McFadden and his wife Kerry were among the 500 guests at Ballintubber Abbey in County Mayo, Ireland. Even their idol Ronan Keating and his wife Yvonne, turned up to hear the nuptials. Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern also put in an appearance, probably because his daughter Georgina is married to Westlife’s Nicky Byrne. Are they secretly trying to muster their way into politics? Or are they really the Irish mafia, hurting their enemies by opening their mouths. http://joongangdaily.joins.com/200312/29/200312292239366709900090109013.html [LETTERS TO THE EDITOR]No-show by Westlife irks a music fan A concert by Westlife, a famous pop group, was suddenly cancelled two days before the group's scheduled appearance on Dec. 14. I cannot understand the explanation given by the organizers. The pop group's management company said that they could not find flights that matched the group's schedule and the Korean promoters said that they could not adjust their dates to the group's schedule. Does that mean that they were going to hold a concert without even reserving the artists' plane tickets in advance? They dazzled fans with promises of fan meetings and enlisted fans to act as promoters for the concert, but their lack of preparation is frustrating. And even though the concert was cancelled on short notice, neither Westlife's management nor the concert organizers made any apologies. Are they saying that everything is all right if they just refund the ticket price? What do they have to say about the time that fans wasted in promoting the concert and our ruined schedules? by Kim Ji-hee http://www.abendzeitung.de/cgi-bin/suche.pl?func=anzeigen&filename=iptc-stl-20031229-1-dpa-1_5376128.nitf&sqlsuche=-infoline-boulevard&linknummer=71&code=3177694.53282423 Westlife-Star Shane Filan hat geheiratet London (dpa) - Ganz in Weiß haben Shane Filan (24) von der irischen Boygroup Westlife und dessen Freundin Gillian Walsh (24) geheiratet. In Anwesenheit von 500 Gästen traten die beiden in der Ballintubber Abbey in der irischen Grafschaft Mayo vor den Traualtar. Zu den Gästen gehörten nicht nur andere «Westlifer», sondern laut «Sun» auch Irlands Premierminister Bertie Ahern: Dessen Tochter ist mit Nicky Byrne verheiratet. Filan und Walsh kennen sich seit Jugendzeiten und sind seit zwei Jahren ein Paar. http://www.hellomagazine.com/music/2003/12/29/shanefilan/ "I was welling up so many times during the service… I feel like the luckiest guy in the world," said Shane, who wed 24-year-old Gillian Walsh on Sunday in County Mayo, Ireland Photo: © PA Click on photos to enlarge The pair tied the knot at the historic Ballintubber Abbey, as hundreds of guests - including Shane's bandmates and singer Ronan Keating - looked on 29 DECEMBER 2003 Thousands of Westlife fans flocked to County Mayo, Ireland on Sunday as one of the boyband's remaining bachelors Shane Filan tied the knot there with his childhood sweetheart Gillian Walsh. The happy couple, both 24 years old, said their vows at the 13th-century Ballintubber Abbey with more than 400 guests – including Shane's four bandmates, singer Ronan Keating and Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern – looking on. Both Shane and Gilian wore head-to-toe winter white, the groom sporting an elegant morning suit and the bride wearing a stunning Vera Wang gown. Gillian made a glamorous entrance in a horse-drawn carriage while her future hubby, who had walked to the altar with his mum and dad, waited patiently for his bride. And when the millionaire vocalist had her at his side, he whispered: "You look amazing." "Just looking at Gillian at the altar was the best moment of my life," he told The Mirror. "I was welling up so many times during the service… I feel like the luckiest guy in the world." After the romantic ceremony, during which Shane's elder brother Finbar acted as best man, the wedding party moved on to one of the country's most exclusive hotels, Ashford Castle, set on a scenic waterfront. The lake was specially lit up with multicoloured lights for the celebrations, which kicked off with a spectacular fireworks display followed by a champagne reception and five-course banquet. "It was a grand affair," said one guest. Shane, who is now off on a Hawaiian honeymoon with his new wife, is the third Westlife hunk to get hitched. Bryan McFadden wed Kerry Katona two years ago, and Nicky Byrne married Georgina Ahern, the Irish PM's daughter, earlier in 2003.