Broadcast date: 22nd June, 2005
"Paddo moved to London 50-odd years ago, fleeing some trauma in rural Ireland. He was a navvy, slaving and boozing, boozing and slaving, until he found himself old, homeless and jobless, with nothing in life but the bottle. He has almost died after passing out one freezing night, and the doctor warns him that his next drink could be his last. "Last time I felt a liver as enlarged as yours, it was on a corpse," she says. "What are you going to do about it?"
That's a good question. He could give up the booze, but what then? Is there anything to salvage from this wreck of a life? "The years slip by when you're on the drink," Paddo says. "Everyone belonging to me is dead and gone these long years."
Actually, that's not true. A good samaritan discovers that Paddo still has family back in Ireland. Will they want anything to do with a smelly old alkie? Return to Killroe (2.15pm, Radio 4) follows Paddo as he returns to his much-changed homeland. John Rooney's play is inspired by the work of the Arlington hostel in London, which cares for destitute Irish exiles; TP McKenna stars." (Philip Daoust/The Guardian)
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