Episode 2.16 (John Lackey): A Pioneering Spirit: Keep the Flag Flying

In season two of the "Finding Home" podcast series, Irish American Archives Society Executive Director Margaret Lynch interviews an array of Clevelanders with specialized knowledge and stories about the history of the Irish in Cleveland. This episode features an interview with John Lackey. John Lackey grew up in County Cavan. When his mother died at a young age, his father made a plan to send the family to a cousin in Cleveland, one child at a time. John and his father left together at the end of the line. In Cleveland, John became a produce manager at the old Pick 'n Pay. He soon immersed himself in Gaelic football, dances at the Westside Irish American Club, and Friday night card games; he met his wife at a wedding and started raising a family. But among his involvements here, he says that the Pioneer Total Abstinence Association takes pride of place. He talks about a lifetime commitment that has its roots in a pledge first made in Ireland.