I came to this country from Dublin at just 25 yrs of age having met and married a young lady from Stocksbridge. My first job was at Sammy Fox's Steelworks in their melting shop. I will never forget the shock of walking in there and seeing for the first time the flying sparks and molten steel being poured out of the furnace! Even the floor was scorching hot so exchanging my shoes for clogs was a necessity as was the thick wooden shirt which regularly became stuck to my back at the end of each shift. It was all a dramatic change from being a happy little postman cycling around in the fresh air in Dublin, the city by the sea!

My workmates took some time to accept me and of course I became known as Paddy (not Tony) from the start. For quite a while they seemed to resent my presence as they objected to 'foreigners’ coming and marrying 'their girls'!

Eventually I moved to Sheffield with my wife and four children having obtained a staff job as a quality inspector with the British Steel Corporation. A somewhat more congenial number!

Bolehills