‘When she died, it brought it all back, you know, how close we’d been,’ Jessica said. ‘I was so sad. But I suppose life’s like that, and it’s nobody’s fault and that’s it.’

She looked at me, waited for me to agree. I couldn’t. Somebody was at fault, I just didn’t know who, not for sure, not yet. But maybe Jessica did.

‘Was there a trigger for the breakdown, the change in Deirdre, do you think?’

‘Not as far as I know,’ Jessica said. ‘Some people are more susceptible to that kind of thing, aren’t they? Around the time of the Film Festival, she broke up with her boyfriend and––’

‘Boyfriend?’

‘Yeah, Joey O’Connor, mind you when I say boyfriend it was all very innocent. She was only fifteen and we were all in the same class at St Finbarr’s. Joey was a rich boy, from the Blackrock Road. Gorgeous, in his day. A bit like Colin Farrell, but tall as well. Played rugby, too.’

She laughed.

‘He couldn’t believe it when he got dumped.’

‘Deirdre broke it off? Why?’

‘I don’t know what happened. I wasn’t surprised she got tired of him. He thought he was God’s gift. He was crazy about Deirdre, though.’

‘Any idea where he is now?’

‘As far as I know he’s working in the family business, they have that big car sales place on the Kinsale Road.’

‘Ann Carney never mentioned a boyfriend,’ I said. ‘Do you think she knew?’

‘No way. Deirdre didn’t tell her. No point. And the dad would have had a canary.’

‘I see. It’s interesting that the break-up with Joey happened around the time of the Film Festival. The Carneys trace the change in Deirdre to then.’

Jessica put her head on one side and looked at the ceiling. I followed her gaze upwards, towards a paper globe with a map of the earth pattern on it, and a small hole where Buenos Aires should have been. I looked at her afresh, and at the furrow between her brows. I wondered what had put it there. She started talking again.

‘That’s right. Now that you mention it, she was never the same after the festival.’

‘You went to the closing ceremony with Ann Carney and Deirdre, is that right?’

‘It was a long time ago. All I remember is being in the Opera House, and it was boring, at the beginning anyway, loads of speeches and giving out prizes, and all that.’

‘Jeremy Gill won that year, didn’t he?’ I said.

‘God, yeah he did. Cork really put him on the map.’