Patricia O’Riordan retired from Cork Simon in 2019 after 18 years of service.

Her work at the Emergency Shelter as part of the Housekeeping team included cleaning, and much more.

”There was one man, he was living in a flat, and we used get cakes on a Wednesday and I'd keep him an apple tart. You get to know their ways and stuff. They'd be always saying, ‘Trish I've no jacket’, and I'd say, ‘come back tomorrow love, I'll find one’. Them kinds of things. You get to know people. Like I never knew their background. It's just, you get to know people, not their past or if they're rich or poor or whatever, you get to know their faces.

It was the best 18 years of my life. It was a job made for me.

As I done my work, looking after the homeless, making sure that they had a clean room and food to eat and sometimes clean clothes, I could see the changes in people, how they felt safe and cared for. I treated the young residents like my children. And the respect I got back from the residents, I will never forget.

I never thought for one moment how much joy I would get working with homeless people. Their stories were sad, but they were happy times too. All the years I work there, I was so happy, and I hope I helped people along the way.”

Patricia talks about a special role she took on ...