PAT TRAVERS, NAVAN, BORN 1939

Pat Travers recalls his background and schooling, and his employment with Navan Carpets in 1963. He was to spend his entire working life of forty years with the company. He describes Navan town in the 1950s, the shops and the workplaces. He also recalls his first taste of work in his teenage years in the landmark Woods’ clothing shop in Navan. At Navan Carpets he spent the first four and a half years on night shifts as he trained in weaving, and he later progressed from small looms to 12 foot looms. He talks about the rules and regulations, the wages and work practices, and remembers colleagues and management. The customers, the different orders and the types of carpets made are all recalled as are the Unions and the challenges that the workers faced. Pat retired in 2002 and declares that if he had his working life to live again he wouldn’t change a thing.