WHEN WE LOSE A FRIEND WE LOVE, WE MUST LEARN NOT TO LIVE WITHOUT THEM, BUT TO LIVE WITH THE LOVE THEY LEFT BEHIND.
Goodbye to a good friend, Deirdre. It's only been five weeks since I said goodbye to you at Our Lady's, and it is forty-eight years since we first met in 1977 at the College of Business Studies, Belfast.
Your skills as a teacher and a team player made you a natural mentor, both in your role as an educator and a caterer. We loved our casual catering work, which ranged from grand weddings in NI to small catering jobs we did for pocket money and the joy of working with good friends. Not forgetting our summer teaching job, which we worked on together at the Melbourne College of Hospitality. I remember our trip along the Eastern Seaboard of Australia and the photos of Michael Hegarty, you, and me outside the Sydney Opera House in 1994. Old friends are gold friends. I will miss you as a loyal and caring friend.
Tuesday 30 September 2025
Francis Loughran, Melbourne, Australia.