Johnny Kierans (b. 1939)

Track 1: His background in Drogheda, and his family`s barbering business in the town. His introduction to horse-racing at a very early age. Track 2: Joining the Drogheda Independent newspaper as an apprentice compositor at the age of 14 after a short education, and learning from Tom O’Donoghue and Andrew Belton there. An anecdote about the horse ‘Caherdaniel.’ Track 3: Serving his time in the printing business and being appointed to senior foreman. Producing racecards and printing and designing new racecards. Stories about betting and losing. Track 4: The historical background to the racing card. Attending a course at Kodak in England to learn new skills. Track 5: The reasons why he left the Drogheda Independent in 1980 to start his own business, and in this new business, Anglo Printers, he designed the first tote ticket for the Jackpot in Ireland. Track 6: Producing the first overnight declarations in Ireland. Track 7: His contribution of articles to the sporting press. His father and his uncle’s involvement in the old IRA and politics in the family. Track 8: Explaining the progress from hot metal printing to modern methods in the printing business. Gaining a a monopoly in the racecard business. His retirement six years ago.