1st March 1999 • The Wizarding World's Beguiling Broadsheet of Choice • 5 κ
IRISH QUIDDITCH STAR WEDS RIVALS' SISTER
By Apollo Heavensbee, Roving Reporter (Gossip Section)
The hearts of a certain group of Quidditch fans were collectively broken this morning, as news emerged that Barry Ryan - Captain of the Montrose Magpies and Keeper for the Irish International side, runners up at this year's World Cup - married his long term girlfriend yesterday in an almost secret ceremony.
Ryan, 27, quietly got engaged to 28 year old Emily Campbell during last summer's off-season break, before announcing the news on the increasingly popular magical journal network. The new Mrs Ryan, formerly of Hufflepuff House at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, is a Potioneer at popular Diagon Alley store J. Pippin's. She is better known for being the older sister of Scotland stars Angus and Lennox Campbell, who play for the Catapults and Falcons respectively.
At the time of publication, little had been revealed about the nuptials. However, your ingenious Daily Prophet Entertainment team have done a little digging to find out as much as we can about the newlyweds' big day!
In fitting with tradition, the wedding took place in the home area of the bride. Though the couple have lived together in Montrose for several years now, and the woman herself was born in New Zealand, the island of Mull in Argyll and Bute is one of the seats of Clan Campbell and is where the siblings spent many of their early years. There are many small churches on the island, but the ceremony itself is likely to have taken place on one of the island's larger venues, such as the historical Glengorm Castle. This is especially likely to have been the wedding location, as the groom considers himself "practically Muggleborn" and the castle has been licensed for Muggle marriage ceremonies for many years. The siting of the castle itself makes it an attractive venue for wizarding couples also, as the size and geography of the state permits anti-Muggle wards where necessary, and extension charms upon certain rooms (applied by a recent half-blood offshoot of the Lairds of Mull). Knowing the size of both the Campbell and Ryan families, plus the number of celebrities likely to attend making the nuptials a potential security nightmare, the possibilities of concealing the marriage from the wizarding public no doubt will make Glengorm a popular choice for further such ceremonies.
Guests - famous family members apart - are believed to have included all six of the groom's fellow QWC runners up. The team, who have been close friends for many years, are all close in age and Chaser Jessica Moran played on the Gryffindor Quidditch team at Hogwarts with Mr Ryan. Miss Moran's fiancé - Scotland reserve Keeper Oliver Wood - is believed to have been in the groom's party along with Best Man Finbar Quigley and Sean Connolly, Aidan Lynch and Brendan Troy of Team Ireland. Fellow Gryffindor graduates Bill and Charlie Weasley are believed to have rounded out the groomsmen, with new brothers-in-law Angus and Lennox Campbell having unknown roles.
Noted absences, however, were the fathers of both the newlyweds. While the absence of Ryan Campbell is understandable - having died in a pub fight over a decade ago - leaving an unknown figure to give the bride away, the non-attendance of the very much living Aodhan Ryan is much more mysterious. Mr Ryan Snr - a muggle who left his children at a young age - is believed to have had little contact with his son over the years and Barry has been known to flat out refuse to discuss him in the media, saying only that "he is no longer part of my life". Reasons for this are unknown.
Could it also be true that there is more family related news in the offing? It has long been known that the couple would like to have children, and having lived together for almost five years before putting a ring on his now-wife's finger, doing things in a certain order has never been a massive priority for the Keeper. Whether the bride is pregnant or not, however, we simply cannot wait for news of baby Ryans. With both sides of the family being blond haired and light eyed, they'll be guaranteed to look positively angelic!
Do you have any further details about the Campbell-Ryan nuptials? Know the name of the dress designer, the identity of those in the bridal party or details about the reception and honeymoon? Contact us at the Daily Prophet gossip desk - we'd love to hear from you!