23-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Independent
Galway busker tells story behind viral proposal moment in city – ‘I was more nervous than he was'
Last week saw a clip of a public proposal in Galway's Latin Quarter shared on Instagram as the sweet moment melted hearts.
The video shows couple Brendan and Cat passing by a busker playing Cat's favourite song, Beautiful Affair, setting the perfect atmosphere for when Brendan popped the big question.
Cat, having no idea that the song was planned for her, can be heard saying 'I love this song' as the pair begin to sway to the serenade.
The busker in question, Jamie Harte, who plays under the stage name Echo Harte, says he rarely receives requests to play such a significant role in such grand gestures, so when he received a DM on social media to surreptitiously serenade for Brendan and Cat's special moment, he was surprised – but excited.
'Brendan messaged me and said, 'listen, I have a very easy gig for you' Jamie laughed. 'He asked if I'd be able to play her favourite song for the moment.'
Before agreeing, Jamie asked Brendan his own important question: 'I said, 'Are you sure she's going to say yes?''
Brendan asked Jamie if he could play Beautiful Affair by Stockton's Wing, setting the perfect atmosphere for when Brendan popped the big question.
Not knowing the song, Jamie was set the task of learning the song within a day of Brendan's request.
The plan behind the perfect moment
Setting the plan in action, he and Brendan agreed that Jamie would be playing outside Burger House after Cat and Brendan had a few pints at The Quays.
Brendan would pass by with Cat, where he would then ask Jamie about his glasses. He would then spontaneously play the Stockton's Wing ditty as Brendan got down on one knee.
Jamie said: 'I was nervous. I think I was more nervous than [Brendan] was!
'I was just focusing on not messing up the song and making the moment perfect.'
In the video, Cat, having no idea that the song was planned for her, can be heard saying 'I love this song' as the pair begin to sway to the serenade.
It was all worth it, however, as Jamie says Brendan was very grateful for his input: 'He was grateful, he was a great, cool guy.'
In the video, Cat is clearly blown away by as Brendan gets down on one knee in the heart of the city centre and asked her to marry him.
To his delight, Cat replies 'yes' and the video captures the heart-warming moment as the couple embrace.
Cheers and applause can then be heard from passers-by and onlookers for the emotional moment.
Jamie has been busking for the past seven years after a U2 gig in Paris inspired him to leave his 'mundane' factory job back in 2018 and pursue his dream of being a musician.
Since then, he has released an album and is gearing up to put out his second in the next few months. He recently released a single, The Same God Created Us which is available to stream on Spotify.
Asked whether he would perform for another proposal, Jame said he would, however added: 'If I started to do this regularly it might ruin the surprise!
'But I'd happily do it again.'
