When I was working in Arlington House and was first putting together the Aisling Project in 1994 I was approached by Jim McCool who was working as a researcher at the University of North London (now London Met). Jim was from Armagh and had been a student on the groundbreaking Irish Studies Course. He knew of Arlington by repute and from the Madness song, One Better Day and he wanted to interview some of the men about their experiences of emigration. The stories were first seen on the first Aisling website (also Jim’s work). Jim has been living in Australia for the last 20 years and he has now taken out these stories of hardship and heartbreak and given them a new lease of life on this newly dedicated  website.

As Jim McGarry of the Irish Times said when they first appeared, ‘Be careful, they could break your heart’:

https://medium.com/bhoys-of-the-big-house/arlingtonhousestories/home