Legacy Under the Bridge

Shortly after my first AA encounter in Pattaya, I sat down for coffee with two “old‑timers” from the group: Tom, the American, and James, the Irishman.

Tom didn’t have much to say. He finished his coffee quickly, paid the bill for all of us before we could reach for our wallets, and slipped away.

James stayed. Well into his seventies, he has been sober for thirty years. He gave up the booze in 1988, when an attempt to give up something else went awry under a bridge crossing the River Nore at Ballyragget, Ireland.

Since then, sobriety has carried him far. He became a successful international asset broker — a discreet intermediary who arranged complex transfers and the brokering of assets among high‑net‑worth clients across Beijing, Singapore, Hong Kong, Hanoi, Sydney and Bangkok. He married twice: first an Irish wife, then a Thai wife. He has children with both, all well‑educated, all doing well. Some now bring grandchildren along for family visits stretching from Ireland to Epping Forest to Pattaya.

His work moving and structuring assets between financial centres made him choose Bangkok as his base — which he quickly shifted to Pattaya, just two hours south.
As the story unfolded, James would suddenly launch into a poem or prayer with a limerick beat. Early in the conversation he gave a quick rendition of a sentimental song that fit the mood of the afternoon.

He gave a quick rendition of “Keep Right on to the End of the Road”, by Harry Lauder

Every road through life is a long, long road
Filled with joys and sorrows too
As we journey on, how your heart may yearn
For the things most dear to you
With wealth and love to sow
But onward we must go

Keep right on to the end of the road
Keep right on to the end
If the way be long, let your heart be strong
Keep right on 'round the bend
If you're tired and weary, still journey on
'Til you come to your happy abode
Where all you love and you're dreaming of
Will be there at the end of the road

With a big stout heart to a long steep hill
We may get there with a smile
With a good kind thought and an end in view
We can cut short many a mile
So let courage every day be our guiding star always

Keep right on to the end of the road
Keep right on to the end
If the way be long, let your heart be strong
Keep right on 'round the bend
If you're tired and weary, still journey on
'Til you come to your happy abode
Where all you love and you're dreaming of
Will be there at the end of the road

Songwriters: Harry Lauder / William Dillon

Keep Right On To The End Of The Road lyrics © Wb Music Corp.

I’m still not sure how it fit the rhythm of our discussion. But that’s the pursuit of grace: it’s not about the beat, it’s about the rhythm of grace.

If alcohol had beaten James under that Ballyragget bridge over the River Nore, then all the descendant souls from him — children, grandchildren, family lines stretching across continents — would be no more.

Founder of the Hadspen Foundation, Jason is committed to building frameworks for spiritual recovery that are both repeatable and personal. His writing is guided by discernment, narrative cadence, and the belief that doctrine should support—not overshadow—the human story.