Tullamore memoirs published by Amazon

A Tullamore man now living in Vancouver has had his memoirs of Ireland - 'Minds' - published as an ebook by Amazon. 'Minds' is described by Pat himself as "an Irishman's embellished memoirs of the 40s, 50s and 60s". The book, which features the Slieve Bloom mountains on its cover, is available on the Amazon website. Pat's book takes in his time spent growing up in Tullamore as well as his later life in Moate, London and Nottingham before emigrating to Canada in 1959. Born in 1936, Pat's parents Bernard and Ann had a pub and grocery shop on Patrick Street where DeBrun's now stands. Reference is also made in the book to the Offaly Independent, which in the early 50s rented an office space from Pat and his family he says. "Tullamore's population in the 40s to the 60s was generally poor, with low or zero inflation," Pat says in the book. "A large number of families operated in survival mode. A few like Mick Killeavy, a butcher, had another job running his band but it was spasmodic." Pat said he finished the book, which took a year to compile, last summer. Though in his seventies, he returns to Tullamore every two to three years, most recently last June. "It's changed tremendously from the time I was growing up in the 50s," he says. "It's grown so much." The 135 page book refers to many of the customers who came to the family shop by name, and includes some photos of the area too. In the book's acknowledgements Pat thanks his wife Ruth who accompanied and encouraged him as he wrote his memoirs as well as editing the manuscript. 'Minds' is the second book from retired systems specialist Pat. Some years ago he penned a book entitled 'How to organise successful charity golf tournaments'.