Irishman on cover of Tube map

It was the year the Beatles released their first single, the Rolling Stones played their first gig and swinging London ignited.

Like many of his generation, Tipperary-man John Hough emigrated as soon as he could, taking the boat to London. He was just 19 and out of school when he answered an advertisement from London Transport which was recruiting in Ireland in 1962.

"There wasn't much going on in Ireland. I was only living on a small farm at the time; there was no way that was going to sustain me for the rest of my life. There wasn't much on the horizon," he said.

He joined London Transport as a bus conductor on April 19th of that year and has been working with the company in its various guises ever since.

With 45 years and two months service, it makes him the longest-serving transport worker in the city.

He was honoured yesterday by the mayor of London Ken Livingstone in advance of his retirement as a station supervisor next week.

Mr Hough (64), who is originally from the townland of Sopwell near Borrisokane, will become the best-known face on the London Underground due to a portrait of him by Turner Prize-winning artist Jeremy Deller.

The work was commissioned for the London Underground art programme, Platform for Art, and will be the next cover artwork for the London Underground pocket Tube map. Five million copies of the map are due to be printed. "I'm as proud as punch on behalf of all the London Underground workers. I never thought they'd do a tribute to staff to that degree," Mr Hough said.

He is hoping to use his retirement to travel to Australia with his wife, who is a cousin of political activist and actor Martin Sheen, next year.