Two Dublin girls who set up an Elvis Presley fan club share their memories of the King of Rock and Roll.
On the second anniversary of the death of Elvis Presley, Dubliners Dee Maher from Kilester and Ann Shiels from Rathmines share some memories of the king. The girls jointly run the Elvis TCB Fan Club, the TCB in the name refers to 'Taking care of Business' a phrase often used by Elvis.
Elvis Presley died on 16 August 1977 but Dee Maher and Ann Shiels still cannot believe their idol is dead,
I don't think he'll ever die in our memory.
Since the death of Elvis membership of the fan club has grown and an event to mark the second anniversary is planned.
Between organising events and adding to their collections of memorabilia and records, being an Elvis fan is a full-time job for Dee and Ann.
Dee Maher met Elvis in 1974 at the Las Vegas Hilton Hotel. Ann Shiels met Elvis on ten occasions in Memphis, the first meeting occurring in 1968 when she was with her mother Mary. It was Mary who first spoke to Elvis as Ann was too starstruck. When she eventually plucked up the courage to talk to Elvis she discovered he was a wonderful person,
Absolutely down-to-earth, very homespun country boy.
Ann Shiels reads from a thank you card sent from Elvis in March 1977, just months before his death. Some of her other souvenirs include a strip of Elvis’ pants that he wore in the mid-1960s, a tuft from his carpet, and a signed scarf handed to her during a performance,
I really treasure it, it's one of my prize possessions.
Considering Elvis dedicated 23 years of his life to music and meant so much to so many people, his memory fading is something Dee Maher cannot countenance. With dedication like this, there is no question of Elvis' memory dying out,
We hope to be running the fan club when we have walking sticks, the two of us.
Dee Maher and Ann Shiels are both in agreement that there will never be another Elvis.
This episode of 'Summerhouse’ was broadcast on 15 August 1979. The reporter is Áine O’Connor.
‘Summerhouse’ was a summer magazine series on RTÉ Television. First broadcast in the summer evening time slot on RTÉ 2 on 13 June 1979, it ran until to 1981. Other presenters and reporters were Liam Nolan and Vincent Hanly.
