Good Friday of yesterday

My friend John Maguire (RIP) and myself were thumbing back from Limerick after unsuccessfully seeking a job in Shannon. We had gone there with my cousins, Oliver and Jackie Patterson. They were working there at the time and assured us that there was work for all.

But of course we went at the worst time of the year – Holy Week – when everything was closing down for Easter. It was also one of the coldest Easter time on record.

Anyway we had to thumb it home. When we arrived in Portlaoise it was around dinnertime and we went to a caf