14 years after his dad died, Pat Fitzpatrick realises he's become just like him

He sits like his dad, uses his sayings, even crosses his hands the way he used to. After years of rebelling against his father, Pat Fitzpatrick realises he’s become just like him

John Fitzpatrick would have been 100 this year. As it was, my father almost made it to 86, dying in Cork University Hospital in 2005 after a short illness. I can still remember sitting with my mother in front of his body in the 4am gloom, wondering what he’d make of the candle and religious statue the nurse had placed on his bedside locker.