The O’Hagan story
I was born in Limerick and grew up in Sligo town. I have many happy memories of my youth in the West of Ireland, despite the rain and wind blowing in from the Atlantic. I was infused with the poetry of Yeats but never encountered the fairies he wrote about. I matriculated from Summerhill College, a grim forbidding stone structure, thankful I was a day boy and not a boarder. Sloshing around in the mud during rugby games was more fun than it sounds. Golf at Rosses Point was invigorating.
Attending University College Dublin gave me an opportunity to immerse myself in the life of "dear old dirty Dublin", a city I love and return to every chance I get. It is a happy city where the "craic" is encountered everywhere. Although studying mechanical engineering, my real interest was Joyce, Behan, Wilde, O'Casey and all the famous lads who put Ireland on the map as a literary nation.
A scholarship to attend The George Washington University in Washington DC as a graduate student first brought me to America. After earning a D.Sc I returned to Ireland expecting to spend the rest of my life. there. However circumstances resulted in my returning to the US to pursue a career in business, first working for a manufacturing company in Dayton and concluding as President of the National Electrical Manufactures Association in DC.
Following my retirement I founded the American Writers Museum based in Chicago, the only museum in the US honoring its great writers. The inspiration came from the Dublin Writers Museum where I loved to engage with my literary friends of old.
My six siblings and their families all live in Ireland; I am the only vagabond. My family roots run deep and wide in Ireland. My wife's family traces its lineage to pre-revolutionary times in Virginia. Our two sons are proud Irish Americans; all of us blessed with the bounties of both countries. America is the land of opportunity but today's Ireland is also a land of amazing potential. My fond hope is that our dear country will be reunited in my life time.