JIM O’BRIEN, NAVAN, BORN 1945

Jim O’Brien was born in a thatched cottage on Flowerhill, Navan, into a family of eleven children. A tradition of furniture making exists in the family as his grandfather and his father were furniture makers. Jim joined Crannac Furniture as an apprentice, and he describes his progress and the new types of wood which became available from overseas. He recalls the time when the factory went into voluntary liquidation and the workers response in forming a co-op, of which Jim was chairperson, to continue the business. He discusses the response from Government, the Credit Union and the local business people, and he describes the challenges, successes and the eventual winding down of the co-op.