AN IRISHMAN in Worcestershire has finally tied the knot with his partner of 40 years – at the age of 82.
Jim Richards, a native of Dublin, had previously said he would marry his partner Rita Harvey, 66, when he was 100.
But poor health has made him bring the wedding forward – and the pair said “I do” in front of friends and family in their hometown of Kidderminster on November 20.
“We had it in the town hall and we didn’t get out of there til a quarter to one in the morning,” bride Mrs Richards told The Irish Post.
“There were still people there dancing when we left so we had a great day of it.”
Both Mr and Mrs Richards have been married previously and between them they have four children, 10 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren – and their families urged them to finally tie the knot.
“Jim’s friend Jim O’Connor flew over from Kerry to be best man, he’s 80,” Mrs Richards said.
The first dance as a married couple.“We’d loads of our Irish friends from Kidderminster there too, about 100 people in total, and one of the grandkids got us some Irish dancers to perform on the day, it was lovely.”
It was after a 34-year courtship that Mr Richards decided to get down on one knee but he had promised to marry his fiancée long before then
“We officially got engaged six years ago, for my 60th,” Mrs Richards said.
“But when Jim turned 60, he booked the town hall for his 100th birthday which was supposed to be the day we’d get wed too,” she laughed.
Mr Richards is well-known in the Irish community in Kidderminster, having run the local Irish club for five years in the 1970s with his now-wife by his side.
The happy couple even moved to Castleisland in Co. Kerry in 1980 for four years before returning to Mrs Richards' native Kidderminster.
They will celebrate their 40th anniversary as a couple just before Christmas.
Though they waited 40 years to get married, Mrs Richards could have been waiting another 18 years to walk down the aisle if it was not for Mr Richards’ ailing health, which made them decide to bring it forward.
Now settling into married life, the Richards are looking forward to spending Christmas in Kidderminster with their family.
And next March they plan on flying to Ireland to visit Jim O’Connor in Castleisland and have their long-awaited honeymoon.
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