60 years later, couple recall their marriage in Birr
Wedding was "first ever mixed marriage at the high altar in St. Brendan’s Church, Birr”
60 YEARS LATER, Alan and Noreen Titterington recalled with fondness their marriage in Birr those many years ago, when speaking to the Tribune this week.
Noreen (née Smyth) and Alan are celebrating their Diamond Wedding Anniversary this summer.
Both are widely known in the Birr area, and they were married on August 21st 1965 at St. Brendan's Church, Birr by invitation of a personal friend of Alan’s, Monsignor Dean Michael Quinn PP VG.
“It was a wonderful day,” said Alan. “We celebrated with a wedding breakfast afterwards with family and guests in the County Arms Hotel, Birr, before honeymooning in Majorca.”
He says their wedding was the “first ever mixed marriage at the high altar in St. Brendan’s Church, Birr.”
Noreen, of Tinlough, Carrig, was a successful hairdresser and had her salon in Emmet Street, Birr, opposite the old Midland Tribune offices. Her long list of personal clients included the 6th Countess of Rosse and HRH Princess Margaret, deceased sister of the late Queen Elizabeth II, who she attended in her rooms in Birr Castle while the Princess was visiting with her husband, the first Lord Snowdon (Anthony Armstrong Jones – son of the Countess) in 1964.
Alan came to Ireland from his native Halifax, in West Yorkshire in England, in 1962, aged 20, and worked for three years as the first resident designer at moquette producers B.Wood and Sons, Ltd., Syngefield, Birr, in its factory later occupied by the Midland Tribune, and now partly occupied by DR Tyres.
The Moquette factory was a good source of employment for many years. The word moquette comes from the French for carpet. It's a hardwearing fabric, often made with a combination of wool and nylon, that is commonly used as chair upholstery in buses and trains. The Birr factory made train upholstery.
Visitors to family and friends in the area on many visits over to Ireland, Alan and Noreen emigrated after marrying, and became resident in Alan's home town of Halifax in West Yorkshire, where they still live and have two sons (Jay and James), two daughters (Lexi and Lucy), and five grand children, James' daughters Niamh and Erin, Jay's daughter Ruby and Lucy’s children Theodore and Florence.
Still very active, Noreen, a former Birr Golf Club member, plays golf regularly, captained her local club and won the Past Captains’ cup this year.
She enjoys knitting, gardening and cookery with occasional child minding travelling to London for Lucy’s children Florence (4) and Theodore (9). Sons Jay (59) and James (55) are partners in Mill Group Productions a PR and film making company based in West Yorkshire.
Daughter Lexi (58) lives in East Sussex where she teaches yoga and has a design studio, whilst their youngest child, Lucy (46), lives and works in London for international charity Save the Children as its Creative Director, recently visiting Kenya to produce a dramatic film about the difficulties experienced with childbirth in remote areas to encourage donations for the charity. Husband Klaas is a film producer winning many international awards for his work.
Alan continued to work in textiles with his own businesses and later entered public service and was Chairman of the West Yorkshire Metropolitan Ambulance Service (WYMAS). He currently spends time writing, gained a Master's degree in 1998 and completed his first novel, 'St. John in the Wilderness,' in 2016. He plays snooker for his local club team and has happy memories of playing with friends at the Birr British Legion Club. The Birr British Legion Club was part of the Royal British Legion (RBL) in Ireland. The RBL continues in Ireland today. It's a registered charity supporting veterans and their families. The RBL in Ireland has a long history, established in 1925 by Irish World War I veterans. The organization focuses on remembrance, welfare, and support for the Armed Forces community.
Noreen and Alan also told the Tribune that they have fond memories of all of their many friends and relatives in the area and would be delighted to hear from any of them.
If you would like to get in contact with them their emails are: [email protected]
Or they can be written to at: 7, Daisy Road , Brighouse , West Yorkshire, England, HD6 3SY.
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