Limerick hurling star Shane Dowling reveals engagement news

The happy couple revealed the news with a post on Instagram and Twitter, as they enjoyed a weekend away at a chilly Adare Manor.

“A Christmas like no other to be had,” declared Dowling, with warm messages of congratulations flowing in the couple’s direction.

Dowling remains on social media channels despite revealing earlier this year that he had come under fire for his comments as an RTE pundit.

"I have never experienced the levels of online abuse that I have been subjected to over the last ten days, but obviously that is where society is gone," he wrote on his RTE column.

“I have been involved in sendings off, as have my team-mates, and when you go about an appeal they are very stressful times for players and families. Trust me, I've seen it first hand.

“If I am nothing else since I started work on The Sunday Game, I am most certainly pro players. Not being long out of the game I know full well what players do, and what they want.

“Whenever a chance has presented itself, in recent times or times ahead, if it makes sense I will back players more so than anybody else.”

It's fair to say Shane is getting a better reception on social media channels following his latest post, with the happy couple looking forward to a special Christmas together.