Father’s Day

My Dad loved crosswords.

He died on 23 July 2009 on his 85th birthday. But he was a very tidy, precise person so it was somehow very fitting.

He was the oldest of 4 children (as am I) and when he was 14 his father died. So my Dad gave up school and went to work in a pawn shop in Capel Street in Dublin. He was the main breadwinner. At 16 he enrolled in College at night, and would cycle from work to lectures every evening. He worked 6 days a week (no such thing as 40 hour weeks) but managed to get himself a degree in Accountancy.

He was a good husband and Dad and looked after his family very well. He worked very hard.

He loved cars

And he loved crosswords. So I am going to spend the evening doing this crossword as it is Father’s Day and he loved crosswords. He could do The Irish Times Cryptic in under an hour and that ain’t easy. And there was no google then and he only resorted to a dictionary as a last resort. (But I have no scruples).

I went down to Shanganagh to put flowers from my children on their Dad’s grave this morning after a rainy swim in Bray

To all the Dads - Happy Father’s Day