Horology
Straight out of school back in the 70’s in a small town along the Co. Sligo coastline, my father produced an application form for a full-time student place in the Irish/Swiss Institute of Horology in Dublin. I filled out the form and then started to enjoy my summer holidays. Very quickly I was called to interview and accepted for the course which was to start that September. At that point my holidays were cut short as I had to organise accommodation and make preparations for my big move to Dublin.
I spent the next 3 years getting to know the Capital and started what was to be the beginning of a life-long love affair with clocks and watches.
I headed for Germany after I qualified and worked as a Watchmaker for the Roeckels and the Breitenbachs of Dusseldorf who repaired clocks for the most exclusive Jeweller shops in Dusseldorf. I returned home some 3 years later and continued to repair clocks and watches while working in the family business and later while studying electronics in Sligo RTC.
My interest in electronics grew and I went on to complete an RTV Course and worked in Radio and Television for a few years. My hunger for this subject was still not satisfied so I sourced an Electronic Engineering course in Galway. I spent 3 years in Galway and achieved a first class NCEA Certificate and then an NCEA Diploma. I then applied to the NIHE in Limerick (now Limerick University) and spent a further 2 years there completing a BEng in Electronic Engineering.
While my career path has changed dramatically since those days, I never lost my love and interest in clocks and watches, particularly the antique clock. I am still collecting, restoring and repairing antique clocks today. I have repaired all kinds of time pieces and mechanical movements from clocks brought to me in bits and pieces in plastic bags, music boxes, grandfather clocks to Wag-by-the-Wall clocks.
My love of the antique clock has also expanded to the antique radio and even to all kinds of antique machines. I have repaired several valve radios and also have a few of my own as well as a number of very nice clocks.
