Skibbereen couple features on new TV series on marriage

BY EMMA CONNOLLY

A SKIBBEREEN-based couple are featuring in a new RTÉ series which explores what happens when couples from different cultures and faith traditions get married.

Rob Moylan and Isabelle Barbosa-Moylan will appear in the December 8th episode of ‘A Ring and a Prayer’, which is currently being broadcast on Friday evenings at 8pm on RTÉ One.  The series follows multicultural couples living in Ireland in the lead-up to their big day.

Rob grew up outside Cork city, but his family have a house near Skibbereen since 1993 and farm near Mount Gabriel for close to 20 years, and he and Isabelle are hoping to get planning permission to build on their existing land to start their own family here in West Cork.

Isabelle grew up in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, and the pair met when she came to Cork to learn English five years ago. ‘We met around eight months after I arrived in Cork,’ said Isabelle, ‘and we were married 10 months later!’

The couple had a civil partnership in Gibraltar in October 2019, and to honour Isabelle’s strong catholic faith, they also decided to have a church wedding. Due to the pandemic, that didn’t happen until last July in the Sacred Heart Church, Western Road, Cork city followed by a reception in the Castlemartyr Hotel, attended by Isabelle’s family.

Rob was born and raised as catholic but describes himself as a ‘practising atheist,’ however, he didn’t hesitate when it came to them having a church wedding. ‘Being with Isabelle has sparked a closeness to that possibility, and I can see how important it is to her, so I know that I need to be more open and accepting of her path. It was also the first thing that her grandparent asked me, was I Roman catholic!’

The couple who currently live at Townsend Street Skibbereen were delighted to be part of the series as they saw it as an opportunity to promote multiculturalism, which is also very close to the couple's heart
Rob, a mentor and technical support trainer with Apple, said that this passion started long before he met Isabelle, and the experience of having two adopted siblings from Guatemala first opened his eyes to different cultures.

Rob’s parents, Kieran and Carmel, adopted David and Nancy in 1990 and 1993 respectively and they are the 'best brother and sister that I could ever ask for', said Rob. He also said that, until he met Isabelle, he thought Irish society was more accepting and open to multiculturalism.

‘I was always under the impression that our city of Cork would be accommodating to people from different cultures, but I can see now that isn’t always the case,’ he said. ‘The move to Skibbereen from Cork city, has shown us much more acceptance and Isabelle feels wholeheartedly welcomed by the people of Skibbereen and West Cork.’

Isabelle, a qualified social worker in Brazil, works as a social care worker in CoAction in Bantry. She said there are occasions in Irish society where she can feel looked down on, simply because she’s from another country. ‘Being part of the series was hugely beneficial, we thought, to people being more accepting of different cultures, especially as we’re seeing a backlash against this beginning to creep into the country,’ said Rob.