In an interview on The Cork’s 96FM Opinion Line with PJ Coogan, Blarney Brass and Reed Band conductor Ross O'Hea and Stronger Together Choir conductor Sorcha O'Connor shared the story of their surprise on-stage engagement, which stunned the audience during their recent collaborative concert.

On the Surprise Proposal and Reaction Sorcha O'Connor revealed that she was completely caught off guard by the proposal, which happened in front of the entire audience and both musical groups:

Completely Oblivious "No I had no idea... I was just so prepared on the concert that I had no idea what was going on... I couldn't believe it especially in front of everyone and in front of the audience. It was very very shocking." A Viral Moment: Reflecting on the aftermath of the public proposal, Ross O’Hea noted the local reaction: "We were looking at one of the videos this morning and it has that little notification on WhatsApp that says forwarded many times."

On Planning the Big Moment Ross O’Hea explained how he coordinated the surprise over several weeks while managing a demanding academic schedule, relying on a few trusted friends to help pull it off:

Ramping Up "It really kind of ramped up in the last six or seven weeks. Myself and Sorcha have been together about nine years now. So I knew I needed to get a move on... I'm just after finishing, I'm doing a primary school masters and I'm just after finishing my final placement. So I was trying to coordinate this concert as well." The Inside Help: "No one really knew apart from I got on to some very good people in the Blarney Brass and Reed Band, the chairperson Greg who I kind of grew up with... and one of the girls Roisin, I was trying to tip Roisin off about having a photographer there."

On Balancing the Concert and the Proposal Ross emphasized that his primary concern was ensuring the proposal didn't overshadow the hard work both musical groups had put into the performance:

A Stellar Performance "I was very conscious I didn't want to take away from a fantastic concert too, you know, and they had been working really hard all year... The concert was the best concert we've actually had in years. So I think that could be as well because I wasn't stressed about the music because I had other things on my mind." A Big Day Out: Sorcha highlighted the scale of the event, adding that the choir traveled quite a distance for the occasion: "The choir came up from Killarney as well. So we got a bus up from Killarney from the Kingdom off to Cork, so that was a big trip for the choir to make as well."

On Their History and Future Plans The couple, who originally met as students in 2014, are currently taking their time before jumping into wedding planning:

How They Met "We actually both did our degrees in the Cork School of Music. We were in the same class together... It's been nine years actually in May." The Next Steps: When asked by PJ Coogan about a date for the big day, Ross replied: "Um no we're still kind of on cloud nine after this. So we need to put the head down."