Mr. Mark McSherry:

When I was in secondary school I hated it, to be honest. There was a man there who was the caretaker. When I was in transition year there was a leaving certificate vocational programme, LCVP, class. I could not qualify for that for some reason. For the LCVP class, instead of me sitting at the back of the classroom doing nothing and falling asleep, the teacher asked the caretaker would he mind taking me to give him a hand, because I was handy.

The same thing happened in fifth and sixth year. The caretaker and I fixed doors, hung pictures and did different small jobs. Such jobs allowed me to enjoy my time in school and I also realised that I wanted to study a trade. As my father was a bricklayer, I worked with him for two summers. Next, I became an apprentice to the fella for whom I work for now and I worked with him for two summers. I loved the work and have kept going.