Jacqueline Hart Gibson, Gilpin County. Rosie Garland met her beau, Ryan (Bron) Dwyer, in the spring of 2017, on a visit she made to his home in Ireland, to meet her sister’s fiancé. Rosie wasn’t looking for love, as she had split from her husband of eight years earlier the same year. She wasn’t actively resisting love either, wanting her heart to stay open despite recent disappointment. When she met her soon-to-be brother-in law’s brother, Bron, she agreed to have lunch with him, noticed she felt comfortable around him, and left it at that, returning to Colorado.

Mary Jo, Rosie’s sister, was to be married in two ceremonies in the states, one Catholic and one Pagan, in August of 2017. Because Mary Jo was living in Ireland, organizing much of the wedding fell to the maid of honor, Rosie. Her counterpart, the best man, was Bron, who arrived in Colorado with the bride and groom a few days before the event.

Maybe there’s something about a wedding, family and friends coming together to celebrate love, that allows us to see one another with different eyes. Maybe the loving intentions of many clears away skepticism, allowing courageous hearts to reveal themselves and cupids to work their magic.

As soon as Bron was off the plane, he and Rosie were inseparable for his five day stay. At the bride’s request, Bron left the airport with Rosie. They started to get close the same evening at a family get together at an Arvada pool hall. Rosie says that night, she just looked at Bron and said, “You’re coming with me,” and the couple ditched the future wedding party to make out. Although Bron was a “great kisser and super cute,” Rosie still had no serious intentions, past having a good time and being with someone who treated her well and was fun.

The next day the couple had a movie date and Rosie admits she knew she was falling for him, but the geographic distance was a block that kept coming up for her.

Rosie’s sister, seven years her junior, was concerned about the couples’ “irresponsibility,” and lectured her to make sure Bron didn’t miss his plane home. Rosie made sure he made it to the airport on time but was sad to see him go.

After the wedding, and the trouble that Bron and Rosie found themselves in throughout the five-day event, the couple talked on the phone almost daily, usually for four or five hours a day. Rosie was processing her divorce and Bron had recently lost his mother, who he loved dearly, and they supported one another. They would plan to listen to the same podcasts and then talk about them later. Bron prefers stories about myths and monsters like UFOs and Bigfoot. Rosie likes true-crime. Though they have different interests, they were able to share them in a unique way because of the distance between them. What was once seen as a block to the relationship, became a strength. When the only way to be together is to talk on the phone, people can get to know more about each other than if they were living in the same town. In fact, Rosie and Bron became an exclusive couple over the phone, before they even saw each other again.

Bron returned for another visit in 2017, just to see Rosie, over Thanksgiving. Rosie said the visit was hard and she was so sad when he left. She knew then she was ready to “do this thing,” or commit for the long haul and so was Bron. Rosie spent the summer of 2018 in Ireland which is when they really got to know one another. Bron returned to Colorado again for two weeks in November and was introduced to many locals. And then…
Rosie went to Ireland for three weeks over Christmas. On December 21, the second day of her trip, still feeling jet lagged, Bron, Rosie, Mary Jo and Ferdia were walking around Dublin when Ferdia suggested visiting Garden Memorial Park. The memorial honors police officers, “the guard,” and Bron’s father was a guard for over thirty years. Rosie said she was being kind of a jerk that day because she was wasn’t feeling well and agreed to the plan without enthusiasm.

There was an area roped off and Ferdia, an amateur photographer, suggested Rosie and Bron walk into the area for photos. Rosie was irritated, thinking they would get in trouble. Bron was struggling to walk, shaking with nerves, and Rosie kept scolding him to, “stay off the grass.” Bron shared a sweet story about visiting the memorial with his father on Remembrance Day, to which Rosie replied, “Cool. You can tell that story to the guards when they kick us out of here.” When they reached the center of the walkway Bron got on one knee. Shocked, Rosie just kept saying, “no, no, no, no, no…” and shaking her head. When she realized she was saying “no” and he was proposing she stopped and said, “I mean yes, but…what are you doing right now?”

Freida, wasn’t sure if he should take photos of the proposal because from a distance it looked like Rosie was turning him down. Bron signaled his brother that she had accepted and other tourists, also watching with concern, suddenly began to applaud!

Rosie plans to move to Ireland in September and they will marry in a proper

Irish wedding in 2020, to give friends and family in the states enough time to plan for the trip. Rosie’s advice to anyone looking for love is, “Look for love in all the wrong places.” Bron advises, “The less you look for love, the more likely you are to find it.”

(Originally published in the February 14, 2019, print edition of The Mountain-Ear.)