Irish Independent February 25, 2007 Sunday Miriam Mone DAUGHTER of Armagh, Miriam Mone, the Irish fashion designer who is perhaps best known as the woman who designed President McAleese's 1997 inauguration outfit, died on last Thursday morning in St James Hospital, leaving behind her beloved and devoted husband, Willie, and her two young daughters, Katerina and Alana. Though only 42, Miriam had achieved much and lived her life to the full, realising her ambitions - to design clothing, yes - but also expressing love wherever she went. In 2004, following the birth of her much-desired first daughter, Katerina, she made the unprecedented decision to retire from the fashion business at the height of her career, and dedicate herself to motherhood. She wrote me a letter at that time, which I still have and cherish, thanking me for my support over the years and telling me what I meant to her. Even then, it felt suspiciously like a final goodbye. In our work, Miriam and I shared a love of feminine sex appeal, luscious colour, pinstripe suits, femme fatales and Barry McCall's film noir photography. I looked forward with great anticipation to her photographic collaborations with Barry; they always tried something new and challenging, a quality that, at that time, few others in the industry bothered with. Miriam was a bold designer, always following her own path. Her trademark was strong tailoring but she also had a uniquely sensual and tactile appreciation of fabrics in luscious, edible colours which were almost erotic. I shall forever associate her with forest green and winter berries, although I believe she adored spring. Miriam was passionate about fashion and hugely proud of Ireland, her people, and the industry. She won the prestigious Satzenbrau Evening Wear Award in the early Nineties, The Irish Designer of The Year, the Grolsh Question of _style_ Award and The Late Late Show Designer of The Year Award in 1995. She was a true creative and endlessly generous. She loved supporting and encouraging talent and effort, whether young students in her alma mater, Limerick College of Art and Design, or entrepreneurial boutique owners for whom she traipsed the length and breath of the country delivering clothes and supporting their fashion shows and local charities. Nothing was too much to ask of her. Miriam Mone was ever gracious and grateful; a queen amongst women. I was looking forward to her return to fashion after the birth last year of Alana. When she wrote to me just before Christmas she mentioned that she was having health problems but hoped to be plaguing me with fashion shoots again soon. I hoped that, too. But somehow, yet again, I felt that Miriam was saying something else. She and I had a connection of the heart. We met at a time of crisis in my life when emotional honesty was all that was possible - and that was what existed between us. Though we were not in constant contact it did not surprise me when I was told that, in dealing with her illness, she had sought the help of a spiritual healer. Miriam was always a conscious and conscientious person and though she did not speak of death to those who loved her, she was attending to her soul. Though immensely proud of her achievements in the fashion industry, Miriam was most proud of her relationships: with her husband and children, her loving mother, her siblings and her friends, many of whom were with her when she passed away. She would not want them to suffer. She would want to be remembered for her love of them and her love of life. I shall miss her mischievous chuckles, her warm, twinkling eyes, her delectable work. I shall miss Miriam.