Photo courtesy of Anne Cotter
As a young man, Peter O’Brien left his home in Northern Ireland to work at the shipyards in the Channel Islands. There, Irish and Scottish workers spun tales of America as a land of opportunity, a place where “everyone had cars.” Mr. O’Brien eagerly accepted driving lessons on his days off, hoping to soon be driving in a new country.
After immigrating to the U.S.
in the 1950s,
Mr O’Brien would later marry and go on to teach his children, grandchildren and dozens of Irish immigrants how to drive, giving them a sense of freedom in their new country.