Adzee - A friend always and forever

Life is not fair, but equally, life is not unfair either. There is no scale to measure life, except the size of a man’s heart and the size of the impact he had on those around him. Adzee had a massive heart that was full of love and compassion. He had an equally massive impact on all of those around him. That is evident from the many people that loved him and the friends he had. To receive a sense of Adzee's character you only have to look at the number of friends he had, and not just the number of friends, but also the strength of each friendship. Adzee was very personable. Friends and strangers alike found a sense of familiarity with him that would make people relax in his presence. With his warm, inviting demeanour, Adzee made a lot of friends whether it was in Naas, Waterford, Berlin or anywhere he worked. Adzee was seamlessly at home in the comfort for social groups and occasions. Being very much an extrovert this came naturally to him. He was often the common link between different groups of friends and still is. With his inclusive nature, he created everlasting bonds between different groups of friends.

‘A good friend of Adzee's is a good friend of mine before we have ever met’. ‘To hear you're Adzee's friend is all I need to know about you, we will be friends too’. These mutual friendships have created unintended lifelong friendships all because of Adzee. This is not a unique occurrence, people will think of the common link between friends and between groups of friends whether it is Ireland or Berlin. The common link will be Adzee.

Adzee and I were childhood best friends from the age of 10 years old. We spent so much time together we were referred to as “Dadzee” or “Black and Red”. Despite being best friends we were very different from one another. We appeared different to one another regarding our hobbies and interests, but underneath it all, we shared the same over the top sense of humour. We had the same stupid and silly sense of humour that would entertain us for hours. We were famous for dragging out every joke, and we were often told by our friends to shut up. There was innocence in his ways that I always related to, and I still do. Our jokes together were so silly to outside ears, but to us they were magical. I continuously remember little anecdotes and stories we shared and wish to relive them again, but I can't. Adzee's half of the fun is gone and can't be retold through his words and experiences.

We all have times we shared uniquely with Adzee alone of beautiful laughter, stories with no beginning, middle or end, crazy impersonations, random ideas, backwards logic, inside jokes, crap funny songs, wild dancing and most importantly, fun. Adzee is someone you associated with fun. You were always going to have a good time when Adzee was there. His infectious laughter, beaming smile, energy and positivity always created something special for everyone in his company. We will all keep those stories alive and laugh quietly to ourselves in memory of our beautiful friend, Adzee.

This is a line by WB Yeats, ‘all that’s beautiful drifts away like the waters’. While Adzee has drifted away, his beauty has not. The beauty of him and the beauty of his soul will be remembered by each and every one of us for a lifetime. Adzee will live on in our memories and our hearts, and he will always be loved. We will each carry the different memories of him and the different ways he inspired us.

We grew up together from boys to men, and I am proud to have done so. All our love, Dan & all your friends