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GAZETTE
DECEMBER 1988
Cr oss Bar Co - ope r a t i on
by Frank O'Donnell
Solicitor
fell mo t i on l ess and prostrate.
Oxygen was applied but it was not
until a bright and alert member of
our profession produced a lighted
fag that Gerry eventually came
round. The look on his face is not
possible to describe when he
realised he had just reached the
half way stage. Gerry sported the
logo "Blazing Saddles" on the front
of his singlet. He was heard to
mutter towards the end of the
evening "Bleedin' Saddle".
Wa t e r f o rd sent f our t r u s ty
representatives along and pro-
portionately they were the most
r ep r e s en t a t i ve
of
any
Bar
Association. They were Frank
He f f e r nan, Elizabeth Dow l i ng,
Gillian Kiersey and Brian Chesser.
Brian O'Mahony was the sole
representative from the North-
wes t. I had just arrived back in
Dublin when I heard his wife
Daphne was boas t i ng around
Ballybofey that such was his haste
to return to her that he had
knocked t wo hours off his return
journey to Dublin. I do not know
how long it took him going to
Belfast.
Tony Ensor, sole representative
f r om t he Sou t he rn Coun t i es,
s p o r t sma n,
t enn is
player,
marksman, once again proved his
versatility and conv i v i a l i ty by
entertaining the Bacon Sisters in
the pub in Belfast shortly after our
— o n t he r o ad . . .
The south bound
road
to my abode
cursing last night's
booze
if / see
Dromore
once bloody
more
I'll blow a fee king fuse
Brendan Walsh
Newry Hill, on the return journey
from Belfast, is the pain-barrier of
t he Ma r a -Cy c l e. Tom Flood,
sporting a polka dot cycling top
inscribed w i th the words " K i ng of
the Moun t a i n s" was observed
walking the Newry Hill by the
hoards of crowds gathered to cheer
us on. One of the assembled
brethern was neard to shout
"You're some king of the bloody
mountains".
That was the spur that Esmond
(Easie the Eagle) Reilly needed.
Comp l e te w i t h silk tie and
matching hankie, he was about to
dismount to join his partner but
feared the retribution of the crowd
and continued without setting foot
to ground. So he swears.
All our participants in the great
trek North made it there and back.
Frank Lanigan was the lucky one to
come out alive. I expected an
ambush in the Cooley Hills, north of
Dundalk. As I cycled along, beside
t wo reoslute cyclists from some-
where in the midlands, one grunted
to the other " They ' re not too
particular who they let into this".
"Wh y ' s t h a t " sais his equally
phlegmatic companion.
" I f I'm not mistaken, that's the
Revenue Sheriff from Carlow up
ahead" came the reply. " Tha t 's the
so and so who lifted cattle from my
aunt."
" A h " responded the other as
they both upped the revs per
minute. There was nothing really to
worry about as the Sheriff pulled
away from the posse.
"Ma k i ng piles for the S.B.A."
was the inscription on the back of
Frank Lanigan's cycle, top. When
Frank explained what it meant to
some inquisitive member of the
public, gu f f aws of laughter erupted
at the idea of there being members
of the solicitors profession who were
in need of anyone's benevolence.
Lunch had been arranged at the
Carrick Dale Hotel just south of
Newry. It was not possible to give
a definite time of arrival but I
allowed a three hour spread.
Everyone made it well within this
time. There was however, concern
exp r essed for Gerry Gr i f f i n 's
whereabouts. Rumours abounded,
some suges t i ng t hat he was
a l r eady in Be l f as t.
De f i n i te
sightings had been made. Suddenly
a pack appeared over the hill and
there Gerry was in the middle of it
being dragged along in a vacuum.
He waved, shouted that now he
had gotten into his stride he wasn't
going to stop. Disbelief descended
on an o t h e r w i se
c o n c e r n ed
gathering, when suddenly the pack
spurted ahead leaving our Gerry
weaving to his left, onto a green
patch of grass where both he and
the bike parted company and Gerry
F r ank O ' Do n n e ll
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