Couple who defied bomb attack mark 50th anniversary

Couple who defied bomb attack mark 50th anniversary

7 September 2022

A DOWNPATRICK couple, who defied a bomb attack on their wedding day, celebrated their golden anniversary recently.

Local businessman Tom Gibney and his wife Phil were married in Mary Mother of the Church, Saintfield, on August 24, 1972.

It was the height of the Troubles, but the newly married couple could not have imagined that terrorists would try to ruin the happiest day of their lives.

A bomb had been planted at the venue for their reception — the Drumkeen Hotel at Newtownbreda on the outskirts of Belfast.

The bomb would later go off, but not before Mr and Mrs Gibney retrieved their luggage and the all-important wedding cake before transferring 

their reception to the Park Avenue Hotel in Belfast.

Fifty years on, Mr and Mrs Gibney celebrated their golden anniversary with a party attended by their family and friends.

And this time, everything went according to plan.