Born in London in 1945 Irene is a Christian who gave her life to Jesus when she was 14. She has a talent for teaching, which she believes is God given. She did her teacher training in Liverpool and completed her probationary year in an Infant School in London. After that she was off to the Bahamas where she worked for the Methodist Missionary Society for seven years. Since then she has lived and worked in Brighton, England.

She has two sons, Karl and Aidan who she refers to as “the boys”. Her first husband deserted the family before the boys were old enough to go to school and she brought them up on her own for fifteen years. They have also given their lives to the Lord. She now has a lovely Christian husband called Geoff and together they attend Downs Baptist Church, Woodingdean, where they serve the Lord in a number of different ways. In addition to this they are also area representatives for “Open Doors”.

She is blessed with two delightful Christian daughters-in-laws. Karl lives near Basingstoke and is married to Sarah. They have two sons called James and Daniel and Irene refers to them as the “little boys”. More recently Aidan has married Katy and they are currently living in East Ham.

She feels passionately about injustice. In her working life she moved from main stream to special education where she tried to improve peoples understanding and acceptance of those with profound and multiple learning difficulties.  With her “Open Doors” work she is able to try and raise awareness, in this country, about the persecution suffered by many of our Christian brothers and sister throughout the world.

She always new there was an artist hidden somewhere inside her and since retiring she has taught herself to paint on silk. Generally she paints flowers but not always. The variety in God’s creation just amazes her and the vibrant colours and sheen on the silk are a constant joy to her. In addition she also enjoys travelling and cooking.