Dr Sandy Crocker is looking for an Irish girl he met briefly in Co Clare last summer

A LOVESTRUCK Canadian man has put his life on hold to look for a woman he met for just two minutes last summer.

Dentist Sandy Crocker (28), from the Pacific coast province of British Columbia, flew more than 8,000 miles to track down the Irish woman.

He is determined to find her and is criss-crossing Ireland searching for a woman in her mid to late- 20s with freckles and reddish brown hair.

His unusual odyssey began last summer when the avid surfer and rugby player popped into An Teach Bia cafe in Ennistymon, Co Clare, on his way to visit the Cliffs of Moher.

After the chance encounter on July 9, he realised that the woman had captured his heart.

"She was eating and I didn't want to interrupt her meal so I waited until she was leaving and I asked her for directions to the Cliffs of Moher," he said.

"I was leaving Ireland a day later so, at first, I didn't see the point in pursuing things -- but after she left I decided I had to.

"Maybe it's a shot in dark but if it is meant to be, if it's fate, then who knows what might happen?"

He is prepared for the worst if she turns out to be married or otherwise involved, or simply not interested, he added.

He will be travelling around Clare for the next few days before heading to Cork. If he hasn't found his mystery woman by then, he plans to return to Co Clare before going to Belfast.

In the meantime, he is hoping the woman will learn of his search and contact him via dating site www.pof.com under the username Travel-bug-4u.

Irish Independent