BITS & PIECES                                                           Tom O’Brien

The playwright and novelist Tom O’Brien was born in Ballyhussa near Kilmacthomas Co Waterford, and he emigrated to Kilburn in London in the mid-Sixties. He took up residence wherever he could and shared a room with Vince Power – later of Mean Fiddler fame. Both had gone to school in Newtown Kilmacthomas; Tom had played with an Irish showband and learned songs from Vince’s collection of records. They worked at various jobs; at one time, Vince was a floorwalker in Whiteley’s department store in Queensway, and Tom worked in the Accounts department of Smith’s Radiomobile factory in Cricklewood. They danced in an Irish dance hall, The Banba and later at The Galtymore.

1971 Tom got married, and Vince was his best man in a borrowed suit. There was a building and demolition boom, and Vince began selling unwanted possessions, such as furniture, radiograms, and early television sets. Tom got involved in illegal scams like taking Green Shield stamps and gambling on dog races.

All this is told in Tom’s new book Bits & Pieces, which is full of his early trials and tribulations in Ireland and England. He once backed horses on a famous ITV Seven and won 2,000 pounds sterling. This was enough to pay for his wedding, and Vince persuaded him to open a second-hand furniture shop: Tom’s money and Vince’s expertise (as Vince said). They had a clapped-out Morris van, buying cheap, selling dearer, and delivering.

Soon, their venture turned sour, and Tom accused Vince of selling a painting at an auction house for an excellent profit behind his back. They fell out.

As Tom says, they renewed their acquaintance some years back in Newtown at the funeral of a childhood friend, Maurice Foran.

Tom writes, “Am I bitter? Not really. Life’s too short to dance with an ugly man, as someone once said”.

Vince went on to run the Mean Fiddler Empire, and Tom became a playwright (four plays were produced in London in one year). Today, he is a published playwright, novelist, and poet. Not bad for a life of Bits & Pieces. 

If you buy Bits & Pieces on Amazon UK, you will receive a copy of his hilarious play, Miss Whiplash Regrets

Liam Murphy – Munster Express