Patrick, we shall all miss you. I have very fond memories of first meeting you in 2014 at a writing course in Limerick. It was easy to form an instant friendship with you. That was just one of your many gifts – being warm, witty and wonderful company. In all our conversations over the intervening years you spoke about your passion for the written word and the writing of your novel. But always, at somewhere in our chats, the conversation would move towards what mattered most in your live – the love you had for Julia, Annie and Rachel. I really enjoyed the time you and Julia spent with us in Kilkenny. The last time I met you in 2022, at another writers' weekend in Limerick, we ended by saying 'Keep in touch. See you next year'. Sadly, we were not to meet again. You had to leave us all too soon. Patrick, I was privileged to have known you and I shall miss you.