The Meskell story

I am Paddy Meskell from Castleconnell in County Limerick, and I emigrated to the US in 1988. Our stories are like our fingerprints, unique to ourselves. Like all great stories, the narratives of our lives take unexpected twists and turns, and though we plan the future, it tends to emerge at its own time and speed and shape its own trajectory and course. Sometimes, the future seems to arrive suddenly, out of nowhere.

My American story begins at a wedding reception in Dublin. The father of the bride had seated the single people together at one table, and I was lucky enough to be seated beside Darlene, who lived and worked in Washington, DC. After five minutes chatting, I knew that this was the woman for me, and within a year, I had sold my business, sold my house, and flew across the broad back of the Atlantic.

Under a guard of honour of hurleys and sliothars and to tunes on tin whistles and negro spirituals, we both said ‘Yes’ in St. Augustine’s Church in Washington DC. My great American adventure had begun.

I had crossed a threshold, and I stood unsteadily on new soil. A great tapestry of emotions engulfed me: excitement, expectation, fear, confusion, doubt, sadness, hope. And though the terrain was unfamiliar and the rituals were foreign, I embraced both the possibilities and challenges of America, buoyed by love and
fuelled by the desire to ‘make it in America’. I trusted the future had good things in store for me and that my Limerick lilt, hard work, and sense of abundant opportunities in the USA would be my blessing and passport to a successful but undefined future.

A friend helped me find a temporary job in banking in New York. Five days a week, I lived the glamorous, exciting, and demanding life of a financial ‘expert’ on risk management in Manhattan. I journeyed back to Washington, DC, for the weekends, and my married life slowly began. We bought a lovely house in the most diverse square mile in America, in the heart of Washington, DC, and I began the search for a new job in the DC area.

I got lucky. I landed a job with Sallie Mae, a large educational finance and student loan institution that was undergoing structural and cultural changes. My job was to help lead these efforts across the company, including quality management, leadership development, culture change, and organizational improvement. Sallie Mae had large offices all over the USA, and I travelled extensively, learning all about America and its regions, its quirks, and its many facets. I grew in confidence and capacity. I immersed myself in US politics, history, and culture and came to appreciate both the greatness of the nation and the gap between its aspirations
and its reality for many.

In 1996, I joined Silver Diner as an owner, director, and key operational and HR leader. Silver Diner was a small local hospitality company with a big menu and bigger dreams. I helped bring it public, then private again, joined the board of directors, and led its growth and its award-winning reputation as one of the best restaurant companies in America. I had the privilege and joy of leading a large workforce made up of immigrants from over seventy different countries from all over the world. This was the most rewarding period of my career in the USA.

When I first came to America in 1988, I studiously avoided anything Irish. I was in America. I was going to be an American! I cringed at the antics and goings on of St. Patrick’s Day. My love for Ireland and its people and culture was undiminished but I chose to absent myself from it except for the usual two weeks' holidays ‘at
home’ each year. That changed in 2005.

I became involved with the Washington Ireland Program as a mentor, coach, and teacher. I also met the visionary and brilliant founder of Solas Nua, an arts organization in DC, dedicated to presenting the best of contemporary Irish arts and culture to Washington and East Coast audiences. I supported the organization, and when the founder had to leave, I joined the board of Solas Nua and served for 10 years, many as chair. This role has had a transformational and enriching effect on my life, bringing some of Ireland’s best writers, poets, filmmakers, musicians, dancers and visual artists not just to the US but also into my world, many becoming close friends. I stepped down in 2022, but I continue to produce and present contemporary Irish arts and artists to American audiences.

I am fortunate to have had a very successful business career and to have led a full and meaningful life in Washington, DC. I made deep friendships and embraced and absorbed the many cultures in the city. I learned volumes from a Masters degree program in organizational development, and experienced a deep emotional
connection when I took the oath to become an American citizen.

In retirement, I was able to make a substantial contribution to the artistic and cultural life of Washington and thereby to reconnect to the artistic and cultural life of Ireland, while providing opportunities for Irish artists in the States.

America has challenged me to be the best version of myself. To be curious about who I am and what I stand for. To question my certainties and to explore the views and opinions most different from my own. To be a voice for those on the margins and in the shadows. To be an advocate, a mentor, a coach, and a champion for those approaching their own thresholds.

I am now fortunate to live half the year in Ireland and half the year in Washington with the love of my life and the reason I went to America, Darlene. I love Ireland. I love America. Both countries aspire to be better than they are today. The deep ties that bind me to both countries – ties of family, culture, history, economics and friendship- are old but stretching and evolving.

I am nearing the end of life’s journey. My life has been sculpted and shaped by Ireland and the US in equal measure. I am indebted to both.