I grew up in a pretty well-off family, as my mother Jelica was a primaryschool teacher, while my father Franjo was a hotelier. He was manager of the hotel in our town, and he worked as a freelance manager in hotels along the coast during the holiday season.

I had a great childhood, but then the Bosnian War started in 1992. I was 13 when the siege of my town began and we were evacuated by the Croatian army to a tiny flat down the road, because our house was in a no-man's land. Soon afterwards, my house went up in flames.

We had no electricity, no running water and no supplies, and every day there was less food. We survived on the money my dad had saved for my sister's college fees, although the prices were exorbitant, like 10 for one egg. There was no school, but we had some classes for a couple of hours a day in a boarded-up shop. One evening, some of us teenage boys went into our old school with a couple of soldiers, and unscrewed the blackboard from the wall and brought it back with us. It was foggy, so the night snipers couldn't see us.

Somewhere between 7-8,000 people from my town lost their lives, and I was lucky nobody from my family was killed, although one cousin was wounded. I was scared at the start but after a while I just became numb to it. The psychological pressure was the worst, wondering if the shelling was ever going to stop, and not wanting to live like that any more. The siege of our valley lasted for a year and a half, and ended in 1995 when the Dayton agreement was signed.

There was some help from the Croation authorities in getting things sorted, and our house was made habitable.

Most of our town depended on the Bratstvo factory for work, but it was destroyed. There was very little work so, like most people my age, I decided I was going to go abroad. I wanted to go to an English-speaking country, because I had worked as an interpreter during the summers since the age of 16.

I came to Dublin in January 2001 with my best friend Obren, as we had heard about the Celtic Tiger. My dad borrowed money for me to come, and I think my parents thought I'd be back within a month. Obren and I stayed in a hostel, and found a job in a newsagent's . . . The Loft, on Grafton Street. We were lucky rather than smart, because we knew nothing apart from the language, and almost every window had a 'Help Wanted' sign back then. We were a bit lost at first, but it was a great adventure. We were only 20, so we were foolish enough not to be too careful about where we were going. Now I am more cautious.

I started working part-time in the hostel, and also as a part-time security guard at the Point Depot. I pretty much started full-time in the security industry after that, and did training with the International Bodyguarding Association. I wanted to go further in education, but the fees here as a non-EU national are huge, almost 10,000 per year. I heard about a two-year course in Security and Business Management in Dun Laoghaire college, which was cheaper than the others, so I applied. I loved college, and I was Student of the Year on my course in 2004. It was very hard at times though, combining a full-time course with a full-time security job.

I met my wife, Nichola O'Reilly, in 2003. She was playing at a Battle of the Bands competition in the Voodoo Lounge with her band, Silken, where I was head doorman. Nichola said I was cheeky to her, and that was why she liked me. I thought she was deadly! We went out on our first date, and had a great laugh, and the rest is history.

Nichola's family are fantastic, and they completely accepted me from day one, so I was blessed, as not all of my other friends have been as lucky. We got married in the registry office here, and then had the church blessing last month in my home town, in the church I was baptised in. About 40 Irish people came over, and we had the reception in the hotel in my town, which hadn't been opened since the war. It was damaged, but my family and friends had done it up for the wedding. It was fantastic.

I have one older sister, Diana, and she came over here a while after me, which I was delighted about. She met her husband, Joe O'Reilly, here, and they have a gorgeous two-year-old now called Zoe. It's funny we both married O'Reillys! Nichola and I have actually just bought the house next door to them in Kilnamanagh, and my parents are delighted we are so close. I miss them, of course, but we keep in touch all the time. Nichola is a primary school teacher, and I'm working as a store detective nationwide now for Aran Security, and I want to progress in my career. I really want to study law, when I can afford it, as I'm fascinated by it.

I don't like the weather here, but I love the people. I find Irish people to be very spontaneous and fun-loving, and I think we're very alike as a nation, maybe due to having similar histories. Ireland is home now to me, and when I go back to Bosnia, I kind of feel like a stranger.