Kerry man Sean Dineen is looking for his old Ennis pen pal Patricia Howard who he corresponded with during the year of 1984.

Sean reached out to The Clare Echo hoping to find her as he wondered what became of the woman with whom he frequently contacted over a twelve month period. “There was no argument it just ended the way these things do” he said on the end of the letters.

He also highlighted that the reasons for looking for her weren’t romantic “We weren’t a couple or anything like that. I had other pan pals at the time but for whatever reason I kept this photograph and on the back I wrote Patricia Howard.

“I’d love to be able to trace this woman to show her the picture what a surprise that would be to see that picture after all them years but who knows where they are today” the Tralee man said.

The pair were put in contact through the lonely-hearts segment of RTÉ 2FM’s ‘Keeping it Country’ show. Presented by country western DJ Paschal Mooney it was one of the first shows to air on 2FM when the station began in 1979. It continued into the 80s even recording a show in Sean’s hometown of Tralee in 1984 during the festival of Kerry before coming to an end when Mooney was elected as a Fianna Fáil senator in 1987. The now 73 year old presenter has returned to broadcasting with a Saturday music show on Sligo, North Leitrim and South Donegal’s local station Ocean FM.

The pair never met and in person and it has now been roughly 36 years since they communicated but Sean has a lot of nostalgia for the time around when he and Patricia were corresponding saying in relation to the 80s “those were the times”.

He remembers very little of what they talked about in their letters and doesn’t know exactly where she was from in Ennis but he’s held onto the photograph for many years and would love to reconnect. He hopes Patricia or someone who knows her will get in contact with The Clare Echo.

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