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The residents of Ernest Jansen Hall, University of Natal, Durban, 1964. Freshette Joan is in the back row, 6thfrom the left. |
I first met my dear friend Joan Conolly in 1964 when we were freshettes (as First Year female students were then called) at the University of Natal, Durban, now UKZN. We were to study the same courses – English and Speech and Drama – and to graduate together with our BAs and UEDs tucked snugly under our arms. We parted company then – Joan to pursue two careers: academic and maternal in Durban, and me to do the same in Ireland. It was not till the mid 1980s when my parents retired to Amanzimtoti that we met up again. Then it became an almost annual getogether on my visits from Ireland, and when the Internet arrived we were in frequent electronic contact.
Joan’s great enthusiasm for her post-graduate work spurred me on to pursue a similar path and we’ve had many lively interchanges, both in person and online ever since. Joan has visited me in Ireland on several occasions and she has been the means that I’ve looked at Ireland through fresh eyes. Back in the 60s we were all impressed with Joan’s formidable intellect and it has been no surprise to see her achieve the wonderful things she has in her career. But more than this, anyone who knows her will confirm when I say that she is the truest and most genuinely loyal friend you could hope for.
One very special memory: in 2001 Joan came to Cork for a conference and afterwards we did a short tour of the megalithic monuments of Loughcrew and New Grange. Everything about it was wonderful, but one afternoon we stood on the top of the 6,000 year-old megalithic Loughcrew mound in rare Irish sunshine and listened to a lark singing its heart out above our heads. Magical!
I wish her the very best in her retirement, which she well deserves.
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