How I Met My Partner: New ‘Lisa life’ for Cork man who found love at bus stop

WHILE many of us struggle with small talk at the bus stop, deputy principal Nicholas O’Keeffe remembers one conversation he never wanted to end.

You might say it never did as that mystery woman is now his wife.

It’s not difficult to see why Lisa McLaughlin — who also works in education as a secondary school teacher — fell for Nicholas’s charms. The pair had mutual friends which gave the strangers a headstart. It turned out some had predicted sparks between the pair before they even met.

“The first time we met properly was way back in 2004 waiting for the bus to UCC,” Lisa explained. “

"We were at the same bus stop every morning at about 8am. Both studying History and Politics as part of our respective degrees, friends had told me that we would probably have a lot in common and could keep each other company. 

"Our friends had told him something similar, although I believe it had sounded slightly more threatening — that he would have “met his match”. It turns out they were right about that”.

Lisa confessed it was like they had known each other forever.

“The truth is I had heard the name Nicholas O’Keeffe long before I met him. Growing up, we lived five minutes away from each other and all of my friends knew Nicholas before I had ever laid eyes on him. Even my dad knew him.”

Nicholas likely never made that connection all those years earlier.

“I knew Lisa’s dad Jim from his part-time job at Blackrock Hurling Club where Jim was a customer but I had never spoken to Lisa.”

Lisa said the match almost seemed too good to be true.

“We spent more and more time together, and we seemed so in tune with our interests that at one point I started to think my dad was feeding him information on the sly — especially when I found out that he was almost as obsessed with the Beatles as I was.”

Months later, while embarking on yet another daily commute, the pair exchanged Valentine cards. Nicholas cast his mind back to that special day.

“I can remember us both exchanging Valentine’s cards but the reality could have been different. I’m guessing that I gave her mine first and she later went and bought one to give to me. I still have my Valentine card and I’m sure Lisa has hers somewhere too.”

POLITICAL VALENTINE

The contents of those cards remain a secret between the couple to this day.

“All I can say is that the cards were of a political nature. Although they weren’t romantic they were quite funny.”

It wasn’t long before Lisa and Nicholas began dating.

“I plucked up the courage to ask her out. Our friends kept encouraging us, insisting we needed to ask each other out. It wasn’t exactly the most romantic first date. We went to see a horror movie in Mahon Point. I can’t remember what it was now but the film was one everyone was going to see at the time.”

Fortunately, Nicholas redeemed himself soon after, with the date of a lifetime for the couple.

“One of our most memorable early dates was attending the Andrea Bocelli concert in Collins Barracks held during the European Capital of Culture,” Lisa recalled.

Former Fianna Fáil councillor Nicholas still looks back on their wedding day in 2013 with fondness.

“We married in the Honan Chapel in UCC and celebrated the reception at the Castlemartyr Resort. It was an amazing and brilliant day.”

The couple haven’t looked back since.

“We got married in December 2013 and now have two amazing children; Darcy, born in 2016, and Andersen, born in 2018,” Lisa said.

The classic names, Nicholas explained, serve as a nod to the couple’s love of literature.

“Darcy is named after Mr Darcy in Pride and Prejudice and Andersen is named after the famed Danish author, Hans Christian Andersen.”

Nicholas said that Lisa is not just his wife. She is also his best friend.

“We know it’s a cliche but the truth is we are best friends, and have been since 2004. We’ve been through many of life’s ups and downs, worked together on common goals, travelled all over, although Liverpool holds a special place in our hearts. We enjoy concerts and events and we always have so much fun together which is key. Basically, we started a conversation back at that bus stop in 2004, and we’ve been talking ever since.

“It doesn’t look like we’ll run out of something to talk about any time soon and we wouldn’t have it any other way”.