It's a Long Way from Penny Apples

Bill Cullen

• Publisher: Forge Books
• Year: 2004
• ISBN:
  9781466820913
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Social Science Biographies
• Index: Social Sciences

Tis better to be born lucky than rich....There are many ways to confront tragedy and hard times. Angela's Ashes, Frank McCourt's tragic--and ultimately uplifting--tale of how one man overcame adversity and found happiness in the New World is a compelling story that has touched thousands of readers. It's a Long Way from Penny Apples is another view of the Irish experience, another man's journey out of the grinding poverty that held an entire generation of Irishmen in its thrall.Poverty and its ills can rend a family apart and ruin countless lives, leaving individuals on their own to find their way, if they can, out of that despair and on to a new life. But not every family gives in to defeat. Sometimes the choice is to not leave anyone behind... and out of that love, a family can come together, using all their talents to bring all of their loved ones to a better place.Bill Cullen was lucky enough to have one such family. Born and bred in the rough inner city slums of Summerhill in Dublin, Bill was one of fourteen children. Selling on the streets from the age of six, be it fruit, flowers, newspapers, Christmas decorations, football colors, or programs, was a means of putting food on the table for Bill and his family. He finished school at thirteen to go on the street fulltime. In 1956 Bill got a job as a messenger boy for a pound a week at Waldens Ford Dealer in Dublin. Through hard work and unrelenting determination, Bill was appointed director general of the company, in 1965. Bill went on to set up the Firlane Motor Company which became the biggest Ford dealership in Ireland. In 1986 he took over the troubled Renault car distribution franchise from Waterford Crystal. His turnaround of that company into what is now the Glencullen Group is a business success story-the group now has an annual turnover of 250 million.
Bill Cullen's story is an account of incredible poverty and deprivation in the Dublin slums. It highlights the frustration of a father and mother feeling their relationship crumble as they fight to give their children a better life. It's a story of courage, joy, and happiness--of how a mother gave inspiration and values to her children, saying to them, "The best thing I can give you is the independence to stand on your own feet." It's a Long Way from Penny Apples is nothing less than a modern-day Horatio Alger story, told with humor and love; a heartwarming tale of redemption and overcoming adversity by one of the most famous self-made men in IrelandAt the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Copyright Notice
• Table of Contents
• The Ma, Molly Darcy, the Da
• Rare Ould Times
• AUTHOR’S NOTE AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
• FOREWORD
• Chapter 1 - THE GERMANS BOMB DUBLIN
• Chapter 2 - THE LUCKY BABY: BORN IN A CAUL
• Chapter 3 - FOOD RATIONS: THE MIRACLE OF THE LOAVES AND FISHES
• Chapter 4 - “MAY SHE REST IN PEACE”
• Chapter 5 - A BOY WITH THE GIRLS IN THE NUNS’ SCHOOL
• Chapter 6 - SO THAT’S WHY THE GERMANS BOMBED DUBLIN
• Chapter 7 - THE LORD MAYOR GETS THE DA A JOB
• Chapter 8 - MARY BEATS OFF THE EVICTION BOWSIES.
• Chapter 9 - HIDING THE MOUNTJOY JAILBREAKER
• Chapter 10 - LOUIS COPELAND MAKES THE COMMUNION SUIT
• Chapter 11 - THE WIDOW WOMAN: MOLLY DARCY
• Chapter 12 - “WILL YIZ GO TO BALLYFERMOT OR DONNYCARNEY?”
• Chapter 13 - GOOD-BYE TO THE HILL
• Chapter 14 - A CHRISTMAS BONANZA
• Chapter 15 - MISCHIEF AT THE PICTURE HOUSE
• Chapter 16 - WHERE DO YOU SELL FLOWERS?
• Chapter 17 - ALFIE BYRNE: A FRIEND FOR LIFE
• Chapter 18 - CAN PIGS SWIM?
• Chapter 19 - WHISTLE A HAPPY TUNE
• Chapter 20 - THE BELVO AND THE BRÚ
• Chapter 21 - CHARLIE HAUGHEY COMES FOR TEA
• Chapter 22 - A STREET EDUCATION
• Chapter 23 - WORKING FOR JAM
• Chapter 24 - CROKE PARK—AND UNCLE ARTHUR
• Chapter 25 - A ROOM OF HIS OWN AND NIGHT SCHOOL, TOO
• Chapter 26 - THE BROTHERS FLY THE NEST
• Chapter 27 - A NEW FREEDOM
• Chapter 28 - THE YOUNG BUSINESSMAN
• Chapter 29 - FULL STEAM AHEAD
• Chapter 30 - THE BIGGER PICTURE
• Chapter 31 - WHEN THE GOING GETS TOUGH
• Chapter 32 - “FAIRLANE” FORD
• Chapter 33 - RENAULT FOR A QUID
• Chapter 34 - THE MA LEAVES HER LEGACY
• Chapter 35 - BUSINESS AS USUAL
• Chapter 36 - END OF AN ERA
• EPILOGUE: ECHOES OF THE PAST
• GLOSSARY OF DUBLIN WORDS OF THE FORTIES
• PERMISSIONS
• INDEX
• Copyright Page