MICHAEL Stipe, the lead singer of REM, sang that leaving New York was never easy and anyone who has been to the Big Apple will agree.

It is almost 30 years since John Breslin first landed in one of the world’s most iconic cities. Like many young Irish people, he was fleeing a vista of hopelessness in a country mired in doom and deep recession. His business in the motor trade was deteriorating due to the economic downturn and he had no alternative but to leave.