Aoife found! Irish message-in-a-bottle writer connects with New Jersey man

Frank Bolger, the New Jersey man who earlier this week told IrishCentral about finding an Irish message in a bottle on a Wildwood beach, has a positive update on the incredible story.

Aoife "contacted me and left me her number,” Bolger told IrishCentral.

“So we called her and talked with her for 11 minutes.”

Aoife is from Bray in Co Wicklow, Bolger said. The two are set to be on an Irish talk show on Saturday morning.

IrishCentral has reached out to Aoife for comment.

Bolger told IrishCentral on Tuesday that he discovered the Irish message in a bottle on 14th Street beach in Wildwood, New Jersey on August 17.

Bolger said he was picking up trash on the beach with his wife Karen and granddaughter Autumn when they made the incredible discovery.

"We found the bottle in some seaweed right at the water's edge," Bolger told IrishCentral, noting that they originally thought the bottle was just trash. 

"We had to take it home to get note out it was jammed in the bottle so tightly," he said.

The note, which appeared to be in great condition after its transatlantic journey, said: "Greetings from Ireland.

"I have thrown this bottle into the sea for someone to find another day.

"Maybe it's traveled down to Africa or to Iceland!

"I won't know if someone found this, but I hope it is found!"

The letter, dated July 17, 2019, was signed simply "Aoife."

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The Irish message in a bottle discovered by Frank Bolger in Wildwood, New Jersey.

In a fateful twist, the Irish message in a bottle landed in North Wildwood which, as Bolger pointed out, "has a huge Irish American population." 

Though Bolger has never visited Ireland (yet), he does have some Irish roots - his family came to the US from Ireland in the mid-1800s.

Bolger acknowledged it was a "long shot" when he reached out to IrishCentral on Tuesday in hopes of connecting with Aoife. With some Irish luck though, the two have now made contact.

Meanwhile, the discovery of the Irish message in a bottle was shared on social media by The Wildwood Sun by the Sea Magazine where, not surprisingly, the story has gone viral.