98-year-old returns from London to Dublin to find his mums grave.

Описание: I finally managed to take 98-year-old Michael back to Dublin to see his mum’s grave.

She died in 1931 when Michael was six and he has since spent the majority of his life living in England.

Taking Michael on a plane and around the city was a nerve-wracking experience. Luckily, Dubliner and extremely nice bloke, Brendan @silverowlphoto drove us around the city which meant Michael got to see so much more than he would've done if it was just me.

Brendan had already contacted Mount Jerome Cemetery so we knew exactly where Michael’s mum was buried. For a while, Micheal was actually standing on the exact spot, but whatever markings that were put on Michael's mums grave have been lost to the elements over the last 90 years, so he wasn’t sure that it was right. His family couldn’t afford a gravestone.

I wrote to @theshelbournedublin Hotel and told them that when Michael was a boy, his gran used to stand outside with him and say, “That’s where the gentry drink”. The Shelbourne replied and gave us a huge discount on the room which was incredibly generous of them. It was also a real treat for Michael. He never dreamed that he’d ever set foot in such a luxurious hotel, let alone actually stay there.

We also took Michael to his old pub, the place where he first worked at 15, and Stephen’s Green Park where he used to go with his gran on his days off from the Artane Industrial School where he was often beaten by the Christian Brothers. The school is now a regular school @stdavidscbsartane and the headmaster very kindly showed us around.

Michael really enjoyed the experience of returning to Dublin. But as you will see at the end of the film, like many of the Irish I have interviewed who came to England, he has mixed feelings about whether or not it is his home.

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#reallives #artane #londonirish #dublin #theshelbournedublin @autographhotels
#mountjerome
#diaspora #mcgowansharoldscross @mcgowansharoldscross @aerlingus