A Dublin grandfather is searching for his childhood sweetheart - 55 years after they parted ways.
Gerry Malone put out a call on social media to find "Catherine From the Liberties".
He wants to apologise for not giving her a Christmas present back in 1966, as he had no money to spare at the time.
Decades on, he still remembers that Christmas “like it was yesterday”.
Gerry is restarting his life after getting the all-clear from cancer, and he now wants to apologise for his teenage romantic faux-pas.
Speaking on Newstalk Breakfast, Gerry said he has been overwhelmed by the reaction to his social media post.
He said: “It was a simple question I put out there: does anyone know of a Catherine - I don’t want to give her second name, obviously - from the Liberties [area]... Patrick Street / Nicholas Street.
“All hell broke loose… in 20 minutes, I had over 900 replies. And it kept growing and growing and growing for two days. It was a whirlwind.”
Gerry said he’s often remembered Catherine over the years, especially around Christmas.
He said: “I don’t know how to put it… I was 15 years of age… but it was love, no question about it. I’ve never felt it since.”
Gerry is now “99% sure” Catherine knows about the call and contact is being made.
However, he stressed this isn’t about interfering in her life.
He said: “This is not about me getting back with Catherine - this is about me apologising to Catherine.”
