It was a beautiful September morning. I had been in New York three months and I was loving every minute of it. I had just got a job as a waitress in a café in Lower Manhattan, Maguire's Grill, it was a real Irish place. I had to be at work for 8.30am but my alarm didn't go off. That was a blessing, because I am alive today to tell you in my words what happened on September 11th 2001.

I awoke at 8.45am, looked at the clock and screamed, my first week in my new job and I was going to be late. I jumped out of bed, put on my uniform and ran from my apartment. My job was a five minute walk from my apartment and just two blocks from the World Trade Centre. Just as I got to the corner of 7th Avenue and 10th...