Maolsheachlann ó Ceallaigh takes a look at some memorable marriage proposals including the failed proposals of W.B. Yeats to Maud Gonne who told him “poets should never marry – the world should thank me for not marrying you!”
There is a restaurant in Washington D.C. called Martin’s Tavern. It was established in 1933, and since that year it has accumulated an impressive history. Its website boasts that every U.S. President from Harry Truman to George W. Bush came there to “dine, discuss, and relax”.
The restaurant’s biggest claim to fame, however, is made on a plaque hanging in Booth Three, otherwise known as “the Proposal Booth”.
The plaque reads: “Where JFK proposed to Jackie. John F. Kennedy and Jacqueline Bouvier, July 24th, 1953”.
The website even carries a quotation from an eyewitness, Ambassador Marion ‘Joe’ Smoak, who said: “After the Senator proposed and she accepted, the news ran through the restaurant … In hindsight it was great fun to witness a part of history.”
Strangely enough, however, there is another establishment which also claims to have hosted JFK’s proposal: the Omni Parker House, a hotel in Boston.
Its own website vividly describes the scene: “Kennedy reaches into his pocket to reveal a small, velvet box. Nestled inside the box is a glittering emerald and diamond ring, custom-made for the soon-to-be Mrs. Kennedy. Kennedy kneels to the ground and looks into Jackie’s, now-watering, chestnut eyes …”
So who is telling the truth? Nobody knows for sure. But the fact that both businesses so eagerly press their own claim is proof (if proof were needed) that the world loves a good proposal story.
Every married couple has their own, and they tend to be passed down through generations. Not only that, but proposal stories are also staples of fiction, where a thousand romantic heroes have raced through the streets to “pop the question” to their lady love, just before she catches that fateful train or plane.
Of course, the answer to a marriage proposal isn’t always “yes”. Stories of unsuccessful proposals have their own romantic appeal.
The most famous love story in Irish history must be that of W.B. Yeats’s love for Maud Gonne (bottom left), who was said to be the most beautiful woman in Ireland. Many books have been written on the subject. This despite the fact that the great poet and dramatist never persuaded Gonne to marry him.
Continue reading in this week’s Ireland’s Own
