My grandfather was in the hot seat at Cork's Marina

When Ford’s new foundry opened on the Marina in Cork nearly 100 years ago, Jimmy O’Sullivan was among the managers.

It was hot and hard work, producing metal castings for the vehicles in the furnace of the factory, but Jimmy’s grandson, Kieran McElhinney, says his grandfather loved the job and the motor company.

“He was born in the Drimoleague area of West Cork in 1892,” says Kieran. “The family later ran a shop in the town and that was where he lived till he moved to Ford in Cork. He was working in McCarthy’s foundry in Skibbereen. It seems a lot of people from there found employment in Ford.