A FORMER Enniskillen man’s life has been celebrated in a special way after his beloved old bicycle was fully restored and taken out for another spin.
The family of late Wicklow man Patrick (Packie) Tierney remembered their granddad by cycling 200km from his adopted home of Bray to his hometown of Enniskillen in aid of Wicklow Hospice and The Alzheimer’s Society of Ireland.
Born in Fermanagh in 1932 in the townland of Woaghternerry, moved to Bray in his early 30s where he passed away, aged 90, last December.
His granddaughter Siobhán Sheehan and her husband Gavin then honoured a pledge they had made to him to restore his cherished 1954 Raleigh Roadster.
Luckily, their job was made much easier when they applied and were later accepted for the Late Late Show’s Big Repair Challenge in April, and the single-speed bike was restored to its former glory.
“Grandad had an old Raleigh Roadster 1954 bike when he lived in Enniskillen. His brother kept it in his shed over the years,” Siobhán explained.
“We said that we’d restore the bike as my husband Gavin is very interested in them. It’s definitely been a labour of love.
“Gavin and I happened to be in the Late Late Show audience the night they announced they were looking for participants for the Big Repair Challenge, so I applied, and they chose us as one of the projects.
“It was a bit of a challenge getting parts for it but with the help of Paul McQuaid from River Cycles in Dublin we got it back in working order again.”
Gavin undertook the cycling challenge solo on his own road bike, with his family checking in on him at various points along the way. He completed the 200k journey in an impressive nine hours. On entering Fermanagh, the restored 1954 Raleigh Roadster was introduced and family members of Mr Tierney took it in turns to ride it into Enniskillen.
“Everyone loved seeing it again, as his children and older grandchildren would have cycled it when we visited his brother Gerald in Enniskillen as kids. He has two other siblings living in Enniskillen, Gregory and Vera,” she said.
“There were lots of our family there at the finish line, which was great, and we had a lovely gathering afterwards.
“We have also raised over €3,000 for both charities.”
A total of €3,115 has been donated so far to Wicklow Hospice and The Alzheimer’s Society of Ireland. “If anyone else would like to donate, we will keep the donations page running until August 31,” Siobhán said.
To donate go to: gofundme.com/f/charity-cycle-in-memory-of-patrick-tierney
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