My Life with Robin Stokes: I quit banking to repair clocks and watches’What I’d love most is to have our own clock similar to the Mangan’s Clock on St Patrick’s Street in Cork City. That, for me, would be the ultimate dream.’ Sat, 12 Sep, 2026 – 01:00Robin Stokes
Turning my back on a well-paid career in banking to repair clocks and watches was a decision I had been wrestling with for some time.
Clocks weren’t exactly part of my plan as a child who wanted nothing more than to wear a suit to work. My dreams were comprised of important meetings and a large office made entirely of glass. I eventually studied economics in UCD, which led me to a career in banking.
It was enjoyable at the start. We were providing finance to listed companies across Ireland. I was getting the chance to deal with CEOs and CFOs from some of the biggest companies in Ireland. While it was really impressive to see how they operated, my perspective on life quickly changed. There were so many talented people working in the corporate sector but I wanted to do something a little more unique. It was at this stage in my life that I started to really appreciate the talent of my father Philip Stokes, who owns and runs Stokes Clocks and Watches on MacCurtain Street. While clocks had never been of interest to me growing up, they were always a big part of my home life.
There were so many clocks around the house, but I only really took any notice when my friends came over after school. The relentless ticking proved too much for some, but I can’t say I ever heard it. You might say the same for those who live on busy streets or close to train tracks. Eventually, the noise is drowned out until you can’t even hear it anymore.
My dad never pressured me to enter the family business. If anything, he was glad to see me forge my own path. In my younger days, I assumed Dad only fixed watches and clocks because it was the only career he could think of.
Now, I can see that he is easily the most talented in Ireland – if not further afield – at what he does. Watching a master craftsman in action is inspiring.
I have no regrets about giving up my job to work with my father. It was clear from the beginning that this was going to be very rewarding work. The thanks I get from people now far exceeds the gratitude I received during the course of my previous career. If you are providing €50m to a large corporate who has 500m already on their balance sheet, they are not going to be super thankful.
If I repair a watch for a lady whose husband died, on the other hand, she is going to be grateful beyond belief. This might be the last thing she has from the person she shared her life with.
The opportunity to work with your hands is also very rewarding.
It’s so hard to get things repaired nowadays. These days, anything that breaks in your house will likely be under warranty. You will probably get a new one while its predecessor ends up in the landfill.
If you have an expensive watch and you take it back to the factory, in many cases, they just replace the mechanism. The exterior might look the same, but really what you’re getting back is a completely different watch. Our aim is to preserve the integrity of the watch or clock as best we can.
The timepieces people bring in are not always valuable in a monetary sense. Nonetheless, they are often hugely sentimental, making them worthy of repair. It might only be a small kitchen clock worth €40 that costs more than this to repair, but that doesn’t matter. We will still take on the project, because it means so much to the customer.
The work is not without its challenges. These challenges make for some very funny moments. It’s not uncommon for Dad and I to be crawling around on our hands and knees in a desperate attempt to find a microscopic piece of a watch that has been sent flying across the shop.
There is no shortage of interesting projects. Currently, we are restoring the tower clock at the Kilkenny Design Centre located close to Kilkenny Castle. I don’t know who last worked on it, but I do know that this work was carried out more than 100 years ago. The job involves taking down two dials dating back centuries.
While dad is working in the shop, I’ll be at home stripping a dial back and covering it in multiple layers of paint. This is all achieved by hand. There are two sides in total, so last week saw me getting to know every millimetre of this dial essentially. Restoration is actually considerably more challenging than starting from scratch. I have to take a tracing of every single number and minute dot because they are all different sizes.
I have a lot of hopes for the future of Stokes Clocks and Watches. What I’d love most is to have our own clock similar to the Mangan’s Clock on St Patrick’s Street in Cork City. That, for me, would be the ultimate dream.
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