He smelled, most of the time, of tea-tree-scented shower gel, and he was never without a selection of bruises to show off as a mark of his footballing prowess.

If there was someone to lead the rush to the dance floor as the first strains of ‘The Summer of ’69’ rang out at any family wedding or club party, it was Colm. He was also good for a pint, and never dodged his round.

He was declared ‘sound’ by almost everyone who met him. And Jo thought he was perhaps the most beautiful creature she had ever set her eyes on.

They met on their first day as holiday reps in Magaluf six years earlier. Their pale Irish skin immediately marked them out as new to the job – something that more senior staff members and some of the rowdier holidaymakers liked to take advantage of.

They were thrown together covering the late nights out, or helping to carry the occasionally much too drunk holidaymaker back to their accommodation. They were goaded into drinking too many shots, and rewarded with early-morning sea excursions, which had them both swearing they would never drink again, a vow which was all but forgotten by the time the evening was upon them.

It was full on, wild and hedonistic and Jo had loved every moment. She had become a rep to see some of the world, and to experience a life outside of the close Derry community, where everyone knew everything about everyone. Her experience repping had delivered that, and more. The ‘more’ being a romance she hadn’t expected.

When she saw her name beside Colm’s on the rota, she would feel warm and fuzzy inside. He made her laugh every single day. When her spirits were flagging, he could lift her mood in minutes with one of his jokes, or hugs, or just by telling her she was beautiful.

When he told her that he loved her, as they sat together on the beach on a rare night off, sun-kissed and blissed out, she had thought life simply couldn’t get better.

He was her first big love and she threw herself into their relationship wholeheartedly. It was heady, intoxicating and had all the passion of the chick-flick movies she loved so much. She felt as if she was permanently smiling, as if she had found the one who completed her. The Harry to her Sally.

They made an incredible team and even though the work was exhausting, and quite often stomach-churning, it was the best summer of her life.