"I
first met Maureen O'Hara through a friend in Foynes in County
Limerick", recalls Patsy, "They have a museum which honors her
late husband Charles Blair. He wrote history with the first
commercial non-stop flight from Ireland to New York and she's here once
every year."
Their new website is located at Foynes Flying Boat
Museum.
"I met her several times over the
years, even in the late 90's. But the event that I treasure most took
place in the early 80's."
There was a tribute night for Maureen O'Hara at the La Guardia Airport
Hotel. A big orchestra and many movie stars were on hand as Patsy was
invited to sing Isle Of Innisfree for her.
"This is Maureen's favourite song as it was the theme music from the
movie The Quiet Man which she starred with the late John Wayne; it's my
favourite movie, to mention that here. And it was
such an honor for me to sing that for her; they flew me in because she
liked my version best of the many nice ones out there."
Maureen was well pleased:
"When I had sung the song, she came over and gave me a big hug and a
kiss."
They may see each other someday soon again: "You know, she's from
Dublin too. But she lives not here; she's got a house in County Cork, in
Glengarriff. Every year she hosts the Maureen O'Hara Golf Classis at the Glengarriff
Golf Club and every year I get an invitation but couldn't go because
of long-term contracts which forced me to do some shows while I could be
playing golf", Patsy regrets, but adds: "But the next time, I
will be there; I promise!"
If you're interested in more about Maureen O'Hara, try these links:
Here's the very best site we could find - tons of info, pics & pages:
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