Larry hopes Limerick Live article will help put him 'in the picture'!

AN IRISHMAN living near London is hoping to find the Limerick woodcarver and designer who produced a unique frame for a friend of his.

Larry Byrne fell in love with the fireplace which was bought by his friend Barbara Duggan, who hails from Limerick.

She recalls buying it fr0m someone in Kilmallock, at a pub once owned by a relative of her cousin.

It was when she was visiting the area with her husband Stephen, who hails from the Baalbec, that she had the frame made for her.

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Sadly Barbara, who lives in Stanmore, north-west London, cannot recall any more information.

Larry, who is originally from Wicklow, is hoping by highlighting the frame, pictured below, in this story, the local designer will come forward and make contact with him.

“It was hand-made by a local person. I believe he hand-made everything on the frame, and it fits nicely on a wall,” he said.
“I thought maybe if a picture went into the Leader, we might find him. Maybe somebody reading might be able to identify him,” Larry added.

The frame sits proudly above Barbara’s fireplace with their family name etched into it, and Larry has always had an eye on getting his own personalised version.

“Barbara is a little unsure of the story behind it. All she can remember is that she was in Ireland with her husband. It was a local person in a pub. They were chatting. She saw the frame, and he said, I will make one for you. Apparently, he made a lot of these things,” he said.

Asked what sparked his own interest in getting a frame like this, Larry said: “When I lived in London, I had an open fireplace. When I was a youngster in Ireland, it always fascinated me to see a lovely open fireplace with these old pots and pans. You'd find them in a lot of the old pubs. Everytime I used to go to Ireland I would collect them and bring them home and put them over my fireplace.”

“When I stayed with Barbara for a time, the frame really caught my eye. I thought if I could find the person who made it, I could ask them. And obviously I would gladly pay them to make one for me. I'd even go to Ireland to pick it up,” pledged Larry, who now lives in Windsor, approximately 25 miles west of London.

Larry has spent nearly all his adult years in the British capital.

He has appeared across the British media as a member of the Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice group.

Most days, he commutes up to London to give evidence to a public inquiry into the British government’s response to the pandemic, which is currently taking place in London.

Larry lost his father, Larry sr to the disease in April 2020.

He feels he was denied a proper opportunity to say farewell to his dad, who died in Charing Cross Hospital.

If you are the designer or know who it is, please contact Larry at +44 7941 361443. Or email larryshamrock@aol.com.