Adrian Michael Fitzgerald (17 Jan 1953 - 16 May 2026)

Mike. You were a man of many talents, a very unique and interesting man, but what I remember and admire most about you is rescuing Yeti. You had never had a dog before but you did not hesitate for a moment when saw the way Yeti was being treated. Such a generous selfless act, and you were kind enough to let me share the joy of Yeti. Shame there are not more people like you in the world.

I was so very sorry to hear about Adrian passing away. I shared a flat with him when I was a student. I came down from Glasgow to Southampton University in 1982-83 to do a Ph.D in chemistry and spent two years living with Adrian in Lodge Road. That was an interesting experience as he had a ‘Technics’ organ in his single bedroom, the sound of which could fill a cathedral, and the noise would blow the roof off the small flat above the laundrette. He would play movie themes like The Hills are Alive from the Sound of Music and Western scores like the High Chaparral ... He worked shifts at the Ford factory in Eastleigh, on the assembly line and did so for many years. I don’t think he enjoyed the work very much but he stayed committed until the factory closed and he was a loyal employee. Adrian had been a projectionist at the Shirley cinema immediately after leaving School and he showed me some great photos of that. He clearly loved that job,and the world of film, and talked about it a lot and I think that was truly the happiest period of his life certainly with respect to work. But the cinema closed, like so many cinemas at that time, being turned into Bingo halls. His love of music and drawing and dressing up all seemed to be inspired by films of the 1960s and 1970s.
There was a music night once a week in the Portswood Hotel and we would go there from time to time. He ended up playing the organ a few nights there covering for the resident organist, overcoming a fear of playing in public. He was really committed to learning the organ and had lessons for years and became very good. I went to America in 1985 and then came back to Durham and then for the last 26 years I have been in Scotland at St Andrews University. So we never linked up very much at all. I visited him a couple of times in Southampton, and he came to Scotland for two short holidays. So although we met only a few times over the last 44 years we would phone each other regularly, certainly every couple of months, for all those years! This was an unusual relationship really but I really valued it. We would talk about what was going on in life and then in the world. His politics were outrageous ...of the ‘mow them all down’, and ‘blow them all up’ approach, but after a rant he would always settle on a reasonable position and was truly a very kind and considerate person. He always wanted to be treated well and he would always treat others well.
Adrian never called me David or anything like that…he only ever called me ‘Scotty’. Me being from Scotland. I never learned the name of his family members (I now know they are Angela and Alison). He would tell me about ‘our Sis’ and ‘our Sis’s husband’ and ‘our Mum’ etc and he never distinguishing which Sis he was talking about. He actually had a friend called ‘the Prof’ that he would talk about a lot, but it was not me even though I am a proper Professor! I was always Scotty and the Prof was his friend who could turn the computer on and print things.
I always enjoyed learning about what he was making…he was great at carpentry and woodwork and would make everything from Snow White boxes, jewellery boxes, to bed steads to bird boxes. And he made them really well with good craftmanship. I really appreciated his ability to make things, draw and play music. He was really talented.
He would also get his shirts and jackets made bespoke somewhere and would drive miles to pick them up. Most recently he got dog walking clothes made and looked like landed gentry in his tweeds. On one of the occasions when he came to Scotland we went to the theatre in Pitlochry and he was dressed like a character from Bugsy Malone with a trilby hat, a well-cut 1920s suit and two-tone brogues. He looked great and I really liked his enthusiasm for dressing up. I know he had several great trips to America all dressed up in Western gear. He had such a boyish enthusiasm for the Wild West. Also on one of those trips he convinced the plane crew and pilot to get a tour of the cockpit! He also went in a helicopter over the Grand Canyon.
He would often talk about the Loch Ness monster, which he had a fascination about. On one of the trips to Scotland he wanted to see Loch Ness, so we went on a trip there and we went out on a boat with a radar which could detect anything in the water. Nothing was spotted but he remained a true believer, and why not! On that trip we also went to Stirling and did the Braveheart (Mel Gibson) tour. He loved all of this and it was great to be with such an enthusiast. He also bought a small set of (tourist) bag pipes and could get a tune from them! He was very musical.
For all his enthusiasm for so many things, he could be a bit miserable about other things like Christmas. At that time of year I would always try to get him to put up a Christmas tree but he never would… I think over the years he did this to spite me (in a nice way) not wanting to give in. But he did like a mice pie!
Yeti was a joy for him over the last few years, although I know he had a lot of ill health latterly and could not walk the dog, and his mobility was not great.
I have very fond memories of my phone calls with Adrian and I recognise that our long distance relationship over so many years was unusual. We bonded despite having quite different lives. Adrian taught me a lot about enjoying your passions and I appreciated his artistic abilities of which I have none. I am only sorry I did not live closer.
Rest in peace.
David O’Hagan