Elaine came to work as an obstetric registrar at Bradford Royal Infirmary Maternity Unit where I was a midwifery sister in the mid seventies. We instantly hit it off, sharing an Irish background, although Elaine was more of a thoroughbred than I was. I quickly learnt that the Cork language went at twice the speed of the Dublin one. Elaine gave me my one and only taste of Poitin ‘this will cure your laryngitis Liz’ . When I woke up fourteen hours later I had a voice again! She also introduced me to spiced beef and her very potent Sherry trifle. How we used to laugh- both on duty and off as of course we lived in on the job in those days. Elaine will be greatly missed, my thoughts and prayers are with you John and Tom. Liz Bibby

Elaine and I met as very raw undergraduates as we turned 17 years in 1965. We have been great friends ever since. She was god mother to our eldest child, , delivered our second , attended the funeral of our third (newborn) and our fourth child ,Angie and Tom are the same age and grew up exchanging notes and complaints about their Irish mothers. I miss her terribly, her life and mine were interwoven like the threads in her glorious tapestries. Anne

I first met Elaine in the Steroid Laboratory at Leeds University when I was a postgraduate and Elaine was doing a research project as a house officer in the Maternity Hospital. Elaine introduced me to spiced beef and "Holy Water" (potcheen). She occasionally forgot the potcheen was stored in a tonic water bottle, which meant that potcheen and tonic could be a breathtaking and mind blowing experience. Elaine was generous, vibrant and fun, with a passion for clothes, hats and handbags. She was my oldest and dearest friend. Elaine will be very sadly missed and she will never be forgotten. Elaine (Yorkshire)