Brides delighted as photos returned after Limerick theft

Five brides were yesterday excitedly reliving stolen memories of their big day.

All their wedding day photos were stolen when photographer Jethro Stokes’s home in Caherconlish, Co Limerick, was ransacked last June, and laptops with thousands of images were taken.

Having given up all hope, Mr Stokes was handed a memory stick at the weekend following what he calls a “clandestine meeting” in a Co Cork carpark.

“I got a call on Friday from a man who kind of sheepishly asked me to meet him on Saturday afternoon at the car park in Little Island industrial estate in Cork,” said Mr Stokes.

“I went there, and at around 3pm met this man, and there were two. I got the memory stick which had all the photos of the five weddings. There was no trace of the laptops, but everybody is so happy.”

Mr Stokes would not say if money changed hands.

“There was great excitement when I contacted the couples with the good news. They kept asking: ‘When are we going to get them, when are we going to get them?’

“Everybody is so happy that the pictures have been recovered, so I am working flat out to get them ready for the five couples.”

Nicole O’Regan from Pallaskenry, Co Limerick, said: “I was thrilled when Jethro rang with the news. As well as being our wedding day, we also had the christening of our daughter and so the photographs were especially precious to us. My husband Eddie and I hope to put a lovely album together when we get all the photos together.”

Mt Stokes was devastated by the theft. “I didn’t know at the time how I was going to tell the couples, some of whom were on their honeymoon. It is a nightmare. I don’t think I was ever been more upset about anything in my life, except for a death in the family.”

One wedding was that of Richard Smith and his Brazilian-born wife, Amelie.

“Aveny wanted lots of special pics which we took as her family could not come from Brazil for her big day. And Richard had super-elderly relatives at the wedding who were at his parents’ wedding. They probably are the last pictures which will be taken of that group. Richard’s parents are deceased. So I am especially pleased for them.”

The 36-year-old said working at weddings gives him great job satisfaction.

“When you see the results and you look at the pictures you say: ‘Yeah, yeah they’ll love these.’ And then you share that joy with the couples when you meet them to give them the pictures. Whatever about the value of the laptops [a Macbook Pro Apple and Acer], what was on them was invaluable. And for safety and security I also put everything on a hard drive and that was stolen also.”

The photographer relocated to Co Limerick seven years ago from Devon when his wife, Susanna, got a job working with children with Down’s syndrome.

One of the laptops contained 10 years of her research into Down’s syndrome.

“This material on her laptop contained bespoke research done by Susanna over 10 years with Down’s syndrome. This has been a huge blow to her and the work she does.”