Robbie's rugby union!
While he has played his part in many big matches all over the world as part of a stellar rugby career, Athlone's Robbie Henshaw fulfilled one of the most important engagements of his life on Thursday last when he married his fiancee, Sophie Marren, at a lavish wedding ceremony in the 5-star Cashel Palace Hotel in Tipperary.
Hot on the heels of having been crowned back-to-back Six Nations champions for the third time in history just five days earlier, many members of the victorious Irish rugby team made the trip to Cashel to join in the celebrations for the new Mr & Mrs Henshaw. Among those in attendance were Irish captain Peter O'Mahony; James Lowe, Jordan Larmour, Josh Van der Flier, Hugo Keenan, Conor Murray and former player Rob Kearney.
The wedding ceremony took place at the historic St John the Baptist Catholic Church on Friar Street in Cashel, which dates back to 1770 and stands on part of the site of the town's medieval Franciscan Friary. The bride, who is a native of Mullingar, and works as an accountant, wore a stunning white satin gown and sheer long gloves which were embellished with intricate embroidery work bearing the words 'The Henshaws' on one sleeve and 'Til Death Do Us Part; on the other sleeve. She also wore a full length billowing veil and had her hair tightly sleeked into an sophisticated bun.
Robbie and Sophie met over a decade ago while both were students in UCD and have been together ever since. The couple, who got engaged in Adare Manor in April 2022, have made their home in Dublin, and Sophie has been a constant fixture at many of the Irish rugby games both at home and internationally since she began dating the Leinster and Irish centre.
An accomplished traditional musician as well as being a gifted sportsman, Robbie Henshaw is the only son of Tony and Audrey Henshaw and has three sisters, Katie, Ali and Emily. The family are steeped in traditional music, and when Robbie is not lining out for Leinster and Ireland he often lines out with his family to play a few tunes on the button accordion!
Monaghan-based photographer, Peter Carvill, captured stunning intimate pictures of the nuptials, the first of which was posted to Sophie Marren's Instagram account and attracted thousands of likes and comments from wellwishers, including one from Robbie Henshaw's teammate, Bundee Aki, featuring a series of heart emojis and another from AFL star, Sarah Rowe.