Graham Forsythe - Early Life

Early Life

Forsythe was born in Ballymena, County Antrim. He was born with such poor eyesight that he could only view the world as shadows and blurry shades of gray. This led to him being classified as legally blind by the medical profession.

In 1958 Forsythe and his family immigrated to Canada where his humble beginnings meant that he had to work from a young age. By the time Forsythe was 10, he was working in a potato farm just outside of Toronto. However, within two years his likable personality had landed him a job as a caddy at the exclusive Hunts Club of Toronto.

He worked his way through University and graduated with a degree in Political Science from the University of Guelph in Ontario. He completed his formal education in 1974 at the age of 22.

By the time he graduated Forsythe had spent more than half of his life working. Yearning for adventure, Forsythe began to travel, starting with the eastern and western seaboards of the United States. He then roamed across Canada, driven by the urge to explore new places and meet people. In 1975 he traveled to New Zealand where he worked on a sheep and mixed crop farm. Two years later he moved to Australia where he worked various jobs, including a one-year stint timber cruising in the Queen Charlotte Islands. Forsythe remained in Australia for three years before he decided that he wished to visit Ireland, the land of his birthplace. In 1979 his journey took him to the little town of Killybegs, County Donegal where he worked as a fisherman. One year later he returned to Canada and worked on a commercial salmon trawler off the west coast.

Throughout all of his travels Forsythe had not really seen the beauty of the world due to his poor eyesight.