How I Met My Partner: Cork journalist's granny spotted potential for match years before anyone

A WELL-known Cork journalist opened up about how a grandmother’s remarkable prediction culminated in her finding love and starting a family.

Years before Julie Helen’s As I See It column in WOW!, her family had high hopes for the determined little girl.

It was another boy in the same physiotherapy programme as Julie, that won the heart of her grandmother all those years ago.

At just nine years of age, David was five and a half years Julie’s senior. Nonetheless, that didn’t stop her grandmother from speculating about what fate might hold for the children, who both had cerebral palsy.

In a throwaway comment that left family members taken aback, she uttered the prophetic words: “Wouldn’t he be lovely for Julie?”

The seemingly throwaway comment still amuses Julie all these years later.

“I have no recollection of him from that time,”, she admits.

“We were doing the same physiotherapy programme in Cork and it really annoys me because I can’t conjure up an image of him from that time. My mum has photographs of us being grouped together and everything. He remembers me from that time because he was around nine.

“Mum obviously dismissed my granny when she said he would be lovely for me because of course we were still kids. My grandmother died in 2004 but I only heard about that comment after David and I got engaged. Mum had kept it to herself all that time. I really love the fact that she met David and approved.”

Julie’s mum also recalled David fondly saying he was “twinkly eyed from the get-go”.

It was an article penned by Julie’s mother in the Farmers Journal that brought the pair together again.

“He had seen me a few times on nights out,” Julie explained. 

“I would have never known who he was but he knew me. He told himself at the time that he wasn’t going to approach me just because I also had a disability, and he never did.”

That all changed in 2012 after an article about Julie featured in the Journal.

“I had returned back from Galway, having done my Masters,” she recalled. “I had done all the education stuff and all of my friends were emigrating.

“However, it was very difficult for me to emigrate due to my disability. She [Julie’s mother] asked me if she could write about me and my difficulty finding employment. At first I was very reluctant because I’m always very positive about the cards I was dealt. I eventually agreed. “David’s mother happened to see the article and showed it to him,” Julie added.

CONNECTED ONLINE

“He had thought about me over the years and wondered what became of me. He looked me up and we connected online first. I felt like I couldn’t say no when he asked me if I wanted to meet up. I asked my mum about him when he got in touch with me and she remembered him as a beautiful child.”

Coming face to face with David is a moment Julie will never forget.

“Even though I was walking on my two sticks, he looked me straight in the eyes, more so than anybody has ever done at an initial meeting. I was bowled over by his daring nature . He was so confident and relaxed at the same time,” she said.

“That night was so busy we could barely hear each other. I don’t think I’ve seen it so busy since. I always laugh about our second date because he took me to McDonald’s in Blackpool. He picked it because of the drive-thru. He wasn’t sure how far I could walk or what my limits were. The main thing for him was that we planned something easy.

“I ordered chicken nuggets because they seemed like the most ladylike thing to eat. He had a burger and didn’t seem to mind about how messy it was. I never thought I’d see McDonald’s as a romantic place but we ended up going there for lunch the day before our wedding because it was our spot. Those memories are really nice and they only feel like a short time ago even though we’ve travelled this long and lovely road.”

2016 WEDDING

The couple tied the knot in 2016.

“We spent an awful lot of time working on our ceremony. I remember asking myself at the time if this was a waste of time. However, people still talk about our wedding ceremony and how beautiful it was and for me and that’s what it was all about,” said Julie, recalling that magical day.

“I can remember grabbing his hand in the middle of it and not wanting to let go. When we were exchanging vows, it was like the hundreds of people that were there melted away.”

Baby Ricky followed in 2019 changing their lives for the better.

“Ricky is what it’s all about for us,” Julie said. 

“We’re building our forever homes in West Cork at the moment. It’s going to be a wheelchair accessible house, and all of that has happened since Ricky came along as well. We’re both very ambitious people and we are very hard workers and I think we bring that out in each other. We are always thinking about the next thing we should do to give us the best chances in life possible. 

"I suppose this has become more heightened in us since Ricky came along. Life comes in phases and we really never know what’s around the corner. I just feel like we can do anything when we have each other.”

The Cork woman lauded her family for their constant support.

“I’m living with my mum and dad and my brother. We’ve lived here since I was pregnant with Ricky for extra support that we are so lucky to have,” she said. 

“We’ve had to rejig things and figure them out together. We’ve also had to prove ourselves as people with disabilities. All along we’ve had to prove that we can do the same as everybody else. We want to show that we can have the car and build the house and achieve anything we want in life. It’s very important to us that we can do the same things as other people because we have as much to offer others as they have to offer us.”