This incredible journey, written in delicious detail by Mike Lawlor, takes us through many breath-taking scenarios in a fascinating and entertaining work, where, no matter what page you open, there is "something for everyone in the audience."
I have known Mike for over sixty years, beginning with our time in the Brewers' Laboratory in Guinness and, later, watched him move over into the world of Industrial Democracy with such ease that it looked as if he was born to the role. He also immersed himself in the world of photography and film making, gaining awards in both fields. He photographed and filmed the Shannon River over a fifteen year period.
He was a founder member of the Guinness Brewery Council and later Community Secretary at Guinness (Dublin), where he was responsible to the 23 Union Groups for the implementation of a Participation Programme during a period of extraordinary change and investment of GBP300million. He left Guinness at fifty and joined the Irish Productivity Centre, where he specialized in the area employee/management relations. On leaving the IPC he specialized in the area of International Bench-marking with large companies. He was a Ministerial appointment to the committee tasked with producing a report on Worker Participation in Ireland. He led the North/South EU/IPC funded "Japanisation" project which studied Japanese management practices in Europe, The United States and Canada.
In retirement, many of us yearn to research our family history, to record for posterity our life growing up, our hobbies and our work experiences. Sadly, very few people follow this through, but Mike was different. He has painstakingly recorded all his life in this work, written in user-friendly terms and easily readable.
For the benefit of his family, Mike has outlined his family history in detail, warts and all, including a two-decade encounter with Angela's Chronic Pain. For this, they owe him a debt of gratitude. Then, he follows on with an invaluable narrative on his experiences growing up in Drimnagh. Social historians and, indeed, Dubliners in general will love this section. It certainly brought back many happy memories for me."
Tony Corcoran
