How I Met My Partner: James walked from Knocka to Ballincollig in the name of love

ORLA TWOMEY will never forget the moment she set eyes on her future husband from the window of a Cork city bus.

Just 17 at the time, James, from Knocknaheeney, had been working as a delivery boy for Keane’s Jewellers, making him a well-known young “man about town.”

“I spotted him straight away,” Orla said. “He was tall with brown curly hair.”

Orla confided in a friend about the mystery heartthrob who was instantly able to match her description. By an incredible quirk of fate, it turned out that James was a close friend of her boyfriend’s.

Orla’s pal immediately set to work, making plans for the pair to meet.

James — who is behind the popular ‘Boys and Girls of Knocka’ Facebook page — still remembers that day outside Keane’s Jewellers on Oliver Plunkett Street like it was yesterday.

“It was 1992. Orla was wearing her St Angela’s uniform. It was green with a stripey shirt. She was 16 but looked a lot younger.”

They were joined by mutual friends for moral support. The foursome was reunited for a double date that Friday night at Chandras — a venue located in the former Grand Parade Hotel.

“Orla looked completely different and so much older when dolled up,” James recounted

“She was wearing a white frilly black shirt and black flat shoes. We were both 18 at the time and there was no such thing as fake ID back then. We got on very well that night, but I still can’t dance to this day.”

Luckily, this wasn’t an issue for Orla who found herself instantly falling for James.

“He couldn’t have done anything differently. I was head over heels,” Orla said.

She opened up about her then-boyfriend’s romantic gestures.

“He used to buy me jewellery and cuddly toys. I still have all the letters he sent me in a Black Magic sweet box somewhere.”

Much of their communication at that time was through letters.

“That was 31-years ago,” James laughed.

“Ballincollig might as well have been Dublin. My family didn’t have a house phone so the only way we were able to contact each other was by post.”

The star-crossed lovers were forced to meet in secret in the early days of their relationship.

“I met Orla’s family in October which was very daunting. By January it was getting close to her Leaving Cert so we were told to “keep it friendly”.

Orla used to say that she was going to mass so we could meet in secret for an hour every week. I didn’t have a car and there were no buses at that time so I made the journey from Knocknaheeney to Ballincollig on foot every Sunday. That’s probably the reason I was so skinny back then!”

Orla still has her diary from the time they were courting.

“It was mostly just stuff about how much I loved him. I still have all the letters and poems he wrote.”

The mum-of-two joked that she could be overly sentimental at times.

“One time James gave me his last Rolo and I even held on to that for ages.”

The couple was thrilled to welcome a son years later.

“Our son was born in 1995 and we got engaged in 1997,” Orla said.

The pair eventually married in Barbados in 2003.

“We went to Barbados-just the three of us,” Orla recalled. “James, Cian, and I were sitting around by the pool just a few hours after the ceremony. It was all very low-key.”

James and Orla are glad to see their son now enjoying the happiness the way they did at such a young age.

“Our son Cian is now 28 and he is also still with his childhood sweetheart which is really nice,” James said.

“They met at nine and started going out at 16.”

The couple has fond memories of their daughter Katie’s birth.

“Eleven years ago we had our daughter Katie,” James said.

“There is a big age gap between her and Cian. When she was born he didn’t want to bring her for a walk on his own because he was mortified people might think she was his.”

Orla says her love for James is still as strong as the day they met.

“He’s funny and charming and everyone loves and gets on with him,” Orla said.

“James has been the love of my life since the age of 16 and I would be lost without him.” 

James shared her sentiment adding:“I love everything about Orla. She is a brilliant wife and mother and has a great sense of humour. She also balances me out as there are times when I get very stressed.”