A change in the Malawi English curriculum which saw the introduction of The Diary of Ann Frank gave John the next platform on which to build his reputation. “The book was being introduced into the curriculum but the people of Malawi didn’t’ understand the context of the literature, so I decided to write a guide for students explaining the circumstances of the time.

“It really took off and it gave me a lot of credibility in the country. I remember one day at the school a helicopter arrived and I was informed that I was to board it right there and then. Now at the time the country was not in a good state and for all I knew I might have been deported. But I got on the helicopter anyway. As it turns out it was organised by the Minister of Education and he wanted me to go to lecture teachers on The Diary of Ann Frank.

After his time spent in Malawi, John once again travelled extensively to places such as South Africa, which was, at the time, still very much mired in apartheid, an experience he describes as “eye-opening”, before returning to Cork in 1990 where he took up further media roles. But wanderlust struck once again and John uprooted to Borneo, Malaysia where he took up the post of Lecturer in Media and Communications.

When he returned to Cork he started writing a novel, before taking up the post he currently occupies at the Cork Vision Centre. “The novel is called ‘Shield of Faith’ and I suppose it could be described as a thriller. It’s like the Da Vinci Code before the Da Vinci Code. I wrote the first 29 chapters in the first year, but it took a further six years to finish the final chapter and complete the editing.”

At a ceremony held in council chambers last week, John was officially conferred as Honorary Consul in the presence of the Lord Mayor of Cork, a group of the Members of the Hungarian Parliament representing both the governing Hungarian Socialist Party and FIDESZ – Hungarian Civic Party, the largest opposition party in the Hungarian National Assembly, the Ambassador of Hungary in Ireland as well as family, friends and associates representing the cultural, commercial, community and voluntary sectors.

“I have to say I was completely taken aback when the former Ambassador Dr Janos Balassa came to Cork last year to personally ask me if I would consider the honouree counsel, which I of course accepted.

“I’ve worked hard to keep the European ties I’ve made over the years. I’ve remained friends with Gabor and Eva Kovacs (the aforementioned Hungarians John first met in Nigeria) and through the Vision Centre I’ve been able to promote Hungary in Cork, including amongst other things, the Enlargement Programme in 2005. I’ve recently been assisting the city of Milosc in its bid to become the European Capital of Culture, having advised on Pecs successful application for 2010.”

The Cork Vision Centre will celebrate its 10 year anniversary over the coming months and as John explains a busy year lies ahead. “We have the 2008 programme complete while 2009 is just about programmed. Our objective here is too break down barriers between art and the general public and I think we’re successfully doing that. When the centre started it was attracting a few thousand visitors a year. In 2007 that number had risen to 72,000. We want to keep that number rising over the coming years.”