Love Conquers the Atlantic

Love Conquers the Atlantic’–Newfoundland Couple’s Message in a Bottle Found in Ireland 13 Years Later

A bottle containing a note from a Newfoundland couple is shown on a beach in southwestern Ireland – credit Kate Gay, handout

From the shores of Newfoundland to the shores of Ireland comes the story of two young lovers frozen in time within the blue glass of a wine bottle.

Separated by 5 time zones, 1,800 miles, and 13 years, the humble message in a bottle proves once again to have a unique power for connecting human beings.

It was 2012, and Brad and Anita were enjoying a picnic on Bell Island, off the coast of Newfoundland. The long-distance daters then got the idea to write a letter and stuff it in the wine bottle they had just emptied.

“Today we enjoyed dinner, this bottle of wine and each other on the edge of the island,” Anita wrote. Brad, then a greenhorn police officer, stood up and gave it all he had into the waters of Conception Bay, unsure if it cleared the rocks.

On July 7th, the bottle was found by Kate and Jon Gay on the Maharees Peninsula in southwest Ireland, over 1,800 miles away. That night, they broke it open with members of their local conservation society, read the letter out loud, and hurried to get in touch with the authors.

Less than an hour later, a local named Martha Farrell confirmed that, according to the text message she had just received, Brad and Anita were still in love—but now were married with three children.

“And then I said, ‘Yay, love conquers all—and the Atlantic Ocean!’” Farrell said in an interview.

The Squires were married in 2016, and next year will celebrate their 10th wedding anniversary alongside their two teens and younger child. The Maharees Conservation Association, co-founded by Farrell in 2016, is also celebrating its 10th anniversary next year.

“Anita and I both feel like we have new friends, and we’re all equally amazed,” Brad Squires told Canada Press. “I guess we have some people to visit and a trip to probably plan.”