When Bernie Gore's purse was stolen in Limerick she assumed that was that, she'd never see it again, and set about cancelling bank cards and the like.
She'd been indulging in a spot of Saturday shopping when the purse was taken from her handbag. It contained the usual things, cash, driving licence, library cards, bus pass and one very special item - her grandmother's memorial card.
"Because it was just over two weeks I really thought I’d never get it back... I was coming home from work this Monday and my husband said 'there’s a slip here for a parcel'. I couldn’t think of anything that I had ordered and wondered if I’d ordered something after a few glasses of wine on Friday," Bernie says.
"He collected the parcel and brought it home and my 14-year-old daughter Ciara opened it. She looked inside and said 'Mam you are going to be sooooooo happy'.
"I couldn’t believe it. Everything was in there except for the cash. My driving licence, public service card, all our library cards, bus passes, and my nanny’s memory card which was most important. My bachelor uncle carried that everywhere with him and even when he was ill he always had his mobile phone, some money and that memory card when he attended various hospitals.
"He gave it to me when he died so it's very precious."
The parcel contained a letter from a lady in Norwich called Lorraine who had been holidaying in Ireland with her husband when they spotted the purse lying in a ditch close to where it had been stolen from Bernie.
The couple were on their way to Shannon Airport to fly home to England so took the purse with them and obtained Bernie's address from her driving licence. They parcelled it up, Lorraine penned a note and they popped the package in the post.
Bernie takes up the story. "We could not figure out why there was an English stamp on the parcel and it took us a while to find the letter. That was just amazing. I spoke to Lorraine last night. She was delighted that I had received it and was worried I wouldn’t."
Bernie hopes she and Lorraine can "meet for a proper chat some day" so that she can thank her in person.
Aw lads look at this. My purse was stolen in Limerick and I just received a parcel from England with everything in it except cash to my home in #Warerford . My driving licence had address. What a lovely lady and her husband. It cost them £7 to post. @damienwlr @Deisesupes pic.twitter.com/kJreAOL6n5
— Bernie Gore (@gore_bernie) February 3, 2020
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