I spoke to Vincent Devine immediately after the auction. He was delighted. “The one worry I have is that the portrait went to someone who will covet it,” he said. Vincent need not have worried. The portrait came home. David Brennan did well. His company, Southgate Engineering, has landed many prestigious contracts in England. Vicky and David lived in Comeragh Drive in the South Kilkenny village of Mooncoin. The young boy spent plenty of time in the Phelan home. “He was like our brother,” said an ecstatic Vicky from Maryland, where she is undergoing experimental treatment for 11 tumours. “I was so nervous. David has been in touch with me all through my treatment. He told me last night he would be bidding. David just called me to say he bought it. I am so delighted.”