First Encounters: Mark O’Keefe and Paul Moody

Paul and I met in 1999. My ex-wife Paula worked for Mac and one of the girls there, Leslie, went out with Paul. She introduced us and we clicked straight away: first and foremost we got each other’s sense of humour.

Will I give you a laugh? All my life, I wanted to be a guard. A priest or a guard. But my dad was a hairdresser for 44 years, a general manager with Peter Mark, and that had a huge influence on me: a passion for fashion and the hairdressing industry was bred into me from a young age.

Paul is very, very fashion-conscious. When I met Paul, he was in recruitment and was a seriously sharp dresser. Even when he went into the guards, he never lost his interest. Twelve years later, he’s still getting slagged over pictures of him at my wedding that were published in a magazine.

I love listening to Paul’s stories about being a guard . . . I don’t know if I’d be able for the incredible focus he has. When Paul tells me about the paperwork, the amount of detail that goes into an investigation, it’s mind-blowing. What really strikes me is the difference between Paul the guard and the Paul who’s been my best friend for 13 years. I know cuddly Paul, fun Paul: he’s a big big guy but he’s very soft.

Paul talks about me giving him advice, but I went through a phase in my life when a very good friend of mine passed away and I was going through the separation from my wife. I hit an all-time low; I wouldn’t have got through that without Paul. I don’t say that lightly, he helped me get through the dark days. That brought us to a much closer place.

It’s a bromance, absolutely. The modern-day Irishman is a far more affectionate, open person than our fathers. For example, I hug all my friends and all my friends hug me. That’s not just in hairdressing, no, no.

Paul and I might get out once a month, go for a nice meal, a few beers and every big occasion, we try to spend together –- New Year’s, our birthdays. I don’t get out that much, because I have children; I’m very fortunate to share my children 50-50, one week on, one week off. My ex-wife Paula and I live close by and both believe in putting the children first. Charlie’s seven, Isabella is five and Eli will be four in July. And my girlfriend Aimee and I are due a baby in November. Aimee and Deirdre, Paul’s wife, are great pals.

Paul doesn’t have a temper, there’s not an aggressive bone in his body, he’s generous to a fault, a great supportive friend.

Our friendship is as solid as people who’ve known each other all their lives.