On the Buses: Patrick was in the dough for many years

NEXT stop, Ballyphehane on bus number 203.

This week we chatted with a woman who loves catching the bus because she never knows who she might bump into.

We met a former O’Dowd’s Bread delivery man who fondly remembers his delivery days when customers would ask him in for cups of tea and we heard from a Farranree local who was making his twice weekly trip to St Finbarr’s hospital to treat a lung condition that has turned his life upside down.

Kinsale-man Patrick O’Mahony used to deliver bread for O’Dowd’s, Keating’s and Irish Pride back in the 80s and 90s.

His son’s taken over the business now. “It’s nice to have it still in the family,” said Patrick.

“It’s completely changed now because it’s mostly all done through computer, where in my day it was all handwritten dockets and it was all book work.

“Really, I sold so much bread because customers wanted the paper first thing and I had the Irish Examiner too. I sold 30 a day every day Monday to Saturday for 30 years!”

He and his wife, Rose, celebrate their 47th wedding anniversary this week.

“We got married at 11 o’clock in the day at Belgooly Church. We had our reception in Garretstown, O’Neill’s Hotel, and it was all done and dusted at five o’clock.”

The next day they saw Cork take on Wexford in the All-Ireland hurling final.

“One of the guests at the wedding who was a very prominent GAA man in Kinsale — Ned Fitzgerald — gave me two upper deck Hogan stand tickets for the match.”

Off they went to Croke Park to cheer on the Rebels, but it was Wexford who took the lead.

“God be good to my mother, she used always say ‘the team that scores the first point, always loses the game.’ Wexford supporters rejoiced when their team put the sliotar in the back of the net.

“They started cheering and waving in the air and I said to them, ‘excuse me, I have bad news for you; the team that scores the first point always loses’.”

Sure enough, Cork won and Patrick and his bride were delighted.

Ballyphehane native Margaret Mullins has been a regular on the 203 for many of her 77 years.

“Thanks to whoever gave us the free pass,” she said.

“I love the bus, you always meet people on it for the chat. I am mad for chat. I just met my first cousin there and I mightn’t see her for a while, but I’d meet her on the bus from time to time. The drivers are all lovely and very friendly.”

Meanwhile, a little child, Ariana, aged two, shouted, “What’s your name?” She had been shopping with her mum, Sarah Kelly, for a pre-school uniform — a day Sarah wasn’t sure would ever come.

“We were trying for years. I’m 41 now and we were trying for years. She’s a blessing. She’s an only child and she’s fed up of looking at me and daddy at home all the time, so I’m looking forward to her meeting teachers and kids. She loves people.”

Frank Cooke, from Farranree, told us about a lung disease he developed in the past year and how he hasn’t been able to work since. It’s turned his life upside down but he stays positive for his three children.

“It just came on all of a sudden, just unlucky I suppose. It’s been life-changing.”

His lungs are scarred, so each week he has physiotherapy and breathing rehabilitation to manage the condition.

“My wife is brilliant, I couldn’t have done it without her really.”