The Times We Lived In: Maeve Binchy and her circle of friends

When we have “ahhhh” pictures in this column, they often feature cute furry animals, small children – or some improbable combination of both.

Few of our best-known writers would inspire such a warmly spontaneous “hug” response.

But there are two – both, sadly, no longer with us – who might. One is Seamus Heaney, who died in the summer of 2013; the other is Maeve Binchy, who died on July 30th, 2012.

This photograph of the latter was taken at the Savoy cinema on Dublin's O'Connell Street. The occasion was the premiere of Circle of Friends, Pat O'Connor's movie of Maeve's 1990 novel of the same name.

The author is flanked by the director’s wife, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio and, on the right of the picture by Minnie Driver, who played Benny in the screen version of the story.

Twenty years on, it’s clear that it was a star-studded production. The cast includes a number of actors who went on to establish first-rate careers including Colin Firth, Aidan Gillen, Ciarán Hinds, Chris O’Donnell and Mick Lally.

Circle of Friends was hailed by the critic Roger Ebert as "a real treasure, heartwarming and poignant, a love story that glows with intelligence and feeling. It's set in Ireland in the 1950s, and is another of those recent Irish films where the young characters are articulate, mature for their years, concerned about serious things, and with poetry in their hearts."

The same might be said of the author herself. To judge by the warmth and spontaneity of the smiles in this wonderful black and white study – and the glints in those three sets of sparkling eyes – Maeve was the unquestioned star of the show on the night. And quite right, too.