CLAIRE O’BRIEN, 62, president of the Flaming Star Elvis Fan Club, Cork
“I’m an Elvis fan since I was about 10. You could say I married Joseph because of Elvis, he was also a huge fan.
“What attracted me to him was the sideburns, the hair swept back, the high collar – he had the whole look.
“We married on August 13, 1977, just three days before Elvis died. We were on our honeymoon in a caravan in Youghal and it came on the radio and I said, ‘Jesus the king of England is dead’. When we realised who it was there was a silence and then I said ‘I want to go home to my mother’. It didn’t feel right to continue but we did come back again years later.”
Claire formed the Flaming Star Elvis Fan Club in 2009 and has spent months organising a tribute Elvis – Aloha from Hawaii concert which takes place on August 19. She said: “The reason his music is so strong today is because everything he sang related to people’s lives, not just his own. The lyrics of his gospel songs ring true for anyone who has had tragedy or pain in their lives.” Claire O’brien