According to this page, ABSENT FRIENDS was written by Keith Hancock. It was sung by the Fureys on their 21st anniversary tour in 1999. They have an album called "21 Years On," but I have been unable to find a track list for this album.

Vin Garbutt also sings ABSENT FRIENDS on his album "When the Tide Turns Again."

Lyrics and chords below are copied from http://www.geocities.com/folkalpointweekly01/050124.htm

(Sorry, the chords don't line up with the lyrics, but that's the way I found them.)

ABSENT FRIENDS
(Keith Hancock)

G D Em Bm
Time heals wounds, they say. Time takes the pain away.

C G C D
I wonder why it never happens for me.

G D Em Bm
It's years since you went away but I miss you night and day.

C G D G
Why you had to go is a mystery to me.

What seemed important then becomes trivial when
Fate deals the card that forces your hand.
All the places we'd been, all the things we had seen,
No more in the future; it just isn't planned.

It's all very strange, but when you went, I changed.
It just seemed to happen with the passing of each day.
I don't understand. Is it part of a plan?
Does one person grow when another fades away?

Small things you'd do weave pictures of you.
They're printed for life on the back of my mind.
I was always so sure. Your life was so pure.
To the faults and to bad times a loved one stays blind.

I always found that when you were around,
You helped me with worries and eased all my fears.
You always had time for problems of mine,
A shoulder to cry on, a listening ear.