By Jon Kavanagh

I recently caught sight of myself in a shop mirror. Oh, the shaved head, beard and glasses were a decent attempt at a disguise. But it was him – my late father. It’s not just the physical resemblance; I have inherited a few of his traits including: the coordination of Mr Bean, the patience of Gordon Ramsey and a morbid fear of change. Hugh Leonard summed up many fathers when he said, “Da spent his life sitting on a bed of briars, afraid to move in case someone took his seat.” He was old in mind and body at my current age. Decades of braving the elements as a farm labourer; sweltering whilst picking tomatoes in glass houses close to Swords or freezing as he sat on a potato harvester near Donabate village where he purchased offal in a butcher’s shop.

Back then everyone had a defined role. His was to bring home the wage packet on Friday evening. Born, as World War One raged in 1917, he got a basic primary school education before embarking on a lifetime in the fields of Fingal. He had a simple life with few luxuries; living in primitive rented accommodation and traveling on a bone shaker bicycle. He owned two suits, a good one for Sundays, and another one for workdays. When the good one became a bit shabby it was demoted to weekdays and a new one was bought for Sundays. He never took a holiday, but opted instead to take two weeks extra pay each year. We always looked forward to the “holiday money”. He didn’t take a day off for my confirmation but choose to show his love by buying me my first wristwatch.

His downtime was spent tending a large vegetable and fruit garden where Adam and Eve wouldn’t have looked out of place, cycling long distances to visit extended family and friends and watching western movies on TV. On Sunday afternoons he would visit the local for a couple of pints. If he could board the Tardis and return to earth in 2024, he would assume he was on another planet. Although over a quarter of a century has come and gone since he passed, he still plays a part in my life. He was a good man, who did the best he could with limited resources. One wonders what he might have achieved if opportunity had knocked on his door.