Limerick Live helps put Larry’s dream frame firmly in the picture!

AN Irishman living near London has been united with a Mountcollins woodcarver who has produced a unique frame for his home - thanks to Limerick Live!

Larry Byrne fell in love with a personalised fireplace brought by his friend and former housemate Barbara Duggan, who is from Kilmallock, and wanted one made for himself.

Unfortunately, Barbara could not remember where she had acquired it.

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So, in October 2024, Limerick Live ran an article on Larry’s search for the designer.

“Several people read the article you did. All of a sudden, people started contacting me. I received a couple of emails, that they knew the particular gentleman. Then all of a sudden, he called me,” Larry explained.

That gentleman is Jack Curtin of Mountcollins, who has been carving wood for Limerick people for generations.

Larry asked for two fireplaces - one bearing his surname of Byrne, another reading ‘céad míle fáilte’.

“He did such a wonderful job. I had to wait several months because I knew they had a lot of work going on. He is very very busy,” said the Londoner, whose family hail from Wicklow and Wexford.

“I was delighted to receive them. When I look at them, I realise how unique they are. I was so overwhelmed, because I know how much work and dedication has gone into them. When you light them up, it is so so different. It always caught my eye when I was in my friend's house,” he said.

Larry is planning to erect one of the fireplace frames in the hallway of his home in Windsor, a town near London.

The other one will appear in his sitting room-cum-dining room.

Larry is also delighted as he has been able to make a connection with the designer Jack himself.

“We’ve become friends. I’ve rang him a few times and had a chat with him. I’ve chatted with his wife and son. They are delighted,” he said.

He has also managed to reconnect with old friends, as a consequence of the article on this website.

“I had friends I worked on the railways with, contact me that I’d lost contact with, who had seen the story and my picture - straight away they recognised me and got in touch with me,” he smiled.