Matt Murphy and Michael O’Sullivan walked down the aisle arm-in-arm (Picture: Colin Keegan, Collins Agency)

Now this is what you call friendship.

Two straight men who are best friends have done what many mates have joked about before – they got married.

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But there was a very good reason why Matt Murphy and Michael O’Sullivan, who live together in Dublin, Ireland, decided to tie the knot.

Doing so saved them about €50,000 (£44,000) in inheritance tax on the house that Matt, 83, has left 58-year-old Michael, his carer, in his will.


In the end, saying ‘I do’ made sense for the best buddies, who did so in a romantic celebration of friendship – they walked down the aisle arm-in-arm and were serenaded by a harpist.

Best friends Michael O'Sullivan and Matt Murphy ahead of civil marriage in order to avoid inheritance tax. More @IrishMirror pic.twitter.com/skGJLeqoxN — Emma McMenamy (@emmamcm) December 22, 2017

Matt told the Irish Mirror that Michael was the brother he always wanted, adding: ‘He’s always so concerned about me. He’s my best friend.’



The pair were reassured that what they were doing was legal by the Garda and former attorney general Michael McDowell.

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They have been friends for almost 30 years – Matt never married, while Michael was married to a woman.

Michael ended up staying with Matt when he became homeless, and became the carer for the older man, who was struggling with giant cell arteritis.

Eventually, Matt suggested that Michael moved in permanently.

Matt has left his house to Michael, who would have been faced with a crippling tax bill (Picture: Getty)

Michael said: ‘He said that he couldn’t pay me as a career. Eventually Matt said the only way he could pay me was to leave me the house.’

After the cost of inheritance tax became apparent, meaning Michael would have to sell the home, Matt suggested the friends simply committed to each other for life.

At their wedding, Michael spoke of Matt’s kindness, while his husband sang Willie Nelson’s Let the World Go By.

Its lyrics are: ‘With someone like you, a pal good and true, I’d like to leave it all behind and go and find, A place that’s known to God alone.’

Same-sex marriage was legalised in Ireland in 2015, and Michael paid tribute to the country’s LGBT community who helped to make it happen.

He added: ‘The equality gay and lesbian people did for this country, that they fought hard for, they were discriminated against for most of their lives, they got equality for themselves but also for everybody else.’