My friend Kieran Woods, who has died aged 56 of cancer, was an English teacher in Lyon, France, and a keen rugby player.
His teaching methods were original, even unorthodox. He encouraged his pupils to express themselves in English, to joke and take risks. He taught them poetry and loved nothing better than to have a good argument about key issues of the day.
Born in Hitchin, Hertfordshire, Kieran was the first child of Bryony (nee Hope-Smith) and Terry Woods, both teachers; he had a younger sister, Emmy. The family lived in Gunnislake, Cornwall, where Kieran attended Delaware primary school. He then went to St Boniface’s Catholic boys’ school in Plymouth. After sixth form, he completed a foundation course at Falmouth School of Art, where we met in a life-drawing class on the first day. Kieran was a gifted painter; his interest in culture and art were central to his life even though he did not pursue an artistic career.
In 1988 he had the opportunity to go to Buzançais in France as an English teaching assistant and to coach rugby, which ignited his passion for the country. This was followed by time spent on building sites in London and helping on his uncle’s farm in Ballyvaughan, County Clare, Ireland, before returning to Buzançais for a period.
He went to Kingston Polytechnic (now Kingston University) in 1990 to complete a degree in French and education, the third year of which he spent in Lyon. Falling in love with the city, he settled there after graduation, teaching French in high schools. His final school was St Denis.
In Lyon, Kieran joined AFIL: the Irish Association, and was always ready to help out in organising events, getting stuck in behind the bar or stacking away chairs at the end of an evening. He once took it upon himself to make dozens of Cornish pasties for an event. He was the instigator behind a pétanque tournament that AFIL hope to renew in his memory and a cinema club.
Kieran met Karine Carré in 1999, and seven years later they had a daughter, Adélie. They split up when Adélie was two, but lived close to one another so they could raise their daughter together. He was thrilled when Adélie was accepted into university to study architecture – his talent for creative ideas passed on along with a love of music and crazy dancing.
In early 2023, a lump on his nose turned out to be an embedded cancerous tumour. This resulted in his having his nose removed, leaving him with significant facial scarring. He bore these life-changing surgeries with dignity and humour; he once visited his plastic surgeon wearing a red clown’s nose, complaining about the poor-quality prosthetics. On another occasion, one of his friends received a text saying, “Sorry, I’ll be late, just realised I’d left the house without my nose!”
Kieran is survived by Adélie, Bryony and Emmy.
