Episode 2.17 (John O'Brien Sr.): Working Hard and Making Things Happen

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 O'Brien Sr. John O'Brien Sr. learned to put his head down and "just work" at an early age. His father's unexpected death left his mother with a family of young children to raise and a farm and grain mill to run. O'Brien learned to pitch in, and he's never stopped. In Cleveland, he pitched in on a GAA football team that won four national titles. He pitched in as multi-term President of the West Side Irish American Club to organize the volunteer maintenance of the club's sprawling campus in Olmsted Township. He pitched in to organize another couple hundred volunteers to put on the Irish Cultural Festival every year from 1983 until the COVID pandemic hit the pause button in 2020. Whatever's next will involve more work!!!