The highlight of a Cork couple’s honeymoon has been ruined due to the shutdown of the US government.

Clare Cogan and Daniel Mohally had started their honeymoon in San Diego and will end up in San Francisco. Yosemite State Park was to be the highlight of their dream trip but as the park comes under the jurisdiction of the federal government it is currently closed, just like the Statue of Liberty and other major US attractions.

In San Francisco, Alcatraz is also under lock and key, another of their honeymoon destinations.

The devastated Irish honeymoon couple were shocked by the news of the government shut down. They heard the news from relatives in Ireland who phoned when they were already on the road.

They met with an LA Times journalist at the visitor center for the park looking dismayed.

Cogan (31) told the paper, “We grew up seeing pictures of it in books.

“You know, the cars underneath those huge Sequoia trees. That was America.”

Mohally added, “It was devastating news for us.”

Their plan was to visit the Sequoia groves and Half Dome, touring leisurely through Yosemite Valley and seeing the falls. Sadly rangers have instructed drivers not to stop at the popular attractions.

They met with an LA Times journalist at the visitor center for the park looking dismayed.

Cogan (31) told the paper, “We grew up seeing pictures of it in books.

“You know, the cars underneath those huge Sequoia trees. That was America.”

Mohally added, “It was devastating news for us.”

Their plan was to visit the Sequoia groves and Half Dome, touring leisurely through Yosemite Valley and seeing the falls. Sadly, rangers have instructed drivers not to stop at the popular attractions.

Mohally said, “All I wanted to do was go to El Capitan and put my hand on it, just to be able to say I did.”

They say they’re utterly “depressed” by the news. The next leg of their journey has also been affected as they had planned to visit Alcatraz, which is also shut down.

Despite being gravely disappointed Mohally said, “We just have to make the most of it.

“On Sunday we have tickets to a 49ers game. The NFL, that’s not run by the federal government is it?”

Jan Quistad, who mans the front desk at Yosemite’s bureau said the Irish newlyweds aren’t the only visitors to be disappointed. She said, “We’ve had about 200 people come so far, just today by late afternoon…Last week we had about 60.”

She added, “They don’t understand it. Today, really, we are spending a lot of time apologizing for what the government has done.”

The federal government’s shutdown began on Tuesday morning as lawmakers were unable to reach an agreement over the budget spending. This means that all non-essential federal employees have been sent home, that’s 800,000 workers nationwide.

Here’s the New York Times latest report on the shutdown: