‘It’s almost certain I can’t come back ... it’s sad’

BRENDAN DE HORA was 20 when he left Dublin looking for his fortune in the US.

At 61, the thought of coming home is a shock.

“I’ve been gone since ’64 but always thought about coming back. Now, it’s so cosmopolitan and expensive. The prices are what hit me the most, they are outrageous. It’s disgraceful.”

He said it was a myth that emigrants to the US ‘made it’, adding many ended up in factories.

“In Michigan, where I’m based, I could get three houses for the price of one in Dublin. It’s almost certain I can’t come back. It’s sad.”