Why do I follow Preston North End?

Since the early 1970's I have followed Preston North End. I'm not certain of the date or exact year, but I think it was 1974. You see, I had been a Manchester United fan, but they got relegated that year (remember Man City's Denis Law back heel?). Since it wasn't cool to follow ManU anymore I looked around for another team. I had a photo of the 1971 PNE old Third Division Championship winning team, and also was a fan of Alan Kelly (Ireland's goalkeeper at that time). When Bobby Charlton became manager of PNE, I thought this would be a good team to follow - but they got relegated that year.

For over 30 years I have been checking their results as they went up and down the divisions. Occasionally I would get to see them on the TV in a cup game, but otherwise never saw then in action. I finally decided to go over to Preston to see the PNE vs. Wolves game on 10th February 2007. My brother Brian bought the tickets and I flew over to John Lennon airport in Liverpool on Ryanair, then got the train to Preston to arrive in plenty of time for the match. Brian and I went to the Football Museum which was great and then had a beer before the match.

Me at the Tom Finney statue.

Brian at Tom Finney statue.

Unfortunately Wolves spoiled my day by winning 1-0, but I loved the experience anyway. Wolves were much better and PNE's midfield was outplayed. There was a buzz every time David Nugent got the ball, but even he could not get a poor Preston team going.

I found it odd that it had taken me over 30 years to finally see a game at Deepdale and I was as excited as a kid heading up to the ground. I bought the PNE jersey to wear proudly back home where people have simply said to me "Preston North End???". I have made a promise to myself to go back to see another game next season - perhaps against one of the bigger teams like Sheffield United or WBA. I'll be watching out for the fixture list with interest. The season ended in disappointment and PNE just missed out on the play-offs - however, having seem them at Deepdale and a lot on TV this year I feel that they would have been certainties to be relegated from the Premiership straight away.

Go PNE!

N11 Memorials

I grew up near Carnew in south Co Wicklow and moved to Dublin in the late 1970’s. The N11 road from Dublin to Wexford through Wicklow is the road I’m most familiar with and travel most outside of Dublin – visiting my Mother and Father in Carnew and holidaying in North Wexford. The long overdue road improvements on the stretch of road between Bray and Gorey are welcome to me as a regular user of this road. Recently, works to connect the Ashford/Rathnew by-pass to the Arklow by-pass, and continue on to Gorey have begun. At last - an end is in sight to travelling the dangerous twisty roads near Redcross, Jack White’s Cross, Scratnagh, and Inch.

If you travel the 40 miles or so on the N11 from Bray to Gorey you will see 13 roadside memorials in the form of flowers, headstones, photographs, teddy bears, and a solar powered light, to 23 people. None of these memorials are located on the dual carriageways – instead, they dot the sides of the old twisty N11 like bits from a cemetery.

For years I have driven past these memorials – never stopping to see who they commemorate or when the accidents happened that claimed so many lives. These memorials always seem to be well maintained and have fresh flowers – family and friends continue to mark the black spot where their loved ones died tragically. For me, these memorials have a stronger influence on me to slow down and drive more carefully – a roadside memorial does a better job than speed limit signs, speed cameras, or Garda checkpoints.

Coming home to Dublin recently on a busy bank holiday weekend, traffic was so heavy near Jack White’s Cross that for several miles I was either crawling or stopped. I looked out of my car window at one of the four memorials in this location and saw a familiar family name from my youth – the memorial marked the spot where a young man from near Carnew died in August 2005. “Rest in Peace” the simple plaque said. Suddenly, these nameless roadside markings had more meaning – real people and real tragedies lay behind every one.

I made up my mind to stop and look at all the other memorials – what names, ages, dates, and fond messages were displayed at each location. I was struck by the fact that most of the dead were young – a majority in their twenties, and most were male. The messages of sorrow at each memorial pierce the heart:

Paddy – the “Daddy always loved”

Darren – “Sadly missed” by his loving Ma, Da, and family

Elizabeth - “Remembered by her husband and three sons”

Stephen, Ann-Marie, and Alex – “Sadly missed by their son”

John Paul, Peter, and Joseph – “Who lost their lives here”

Michael – “In loving memory from Mum and Dad, 10 sisters and 6 brothers”

Priscilla – “In our hearts you will live forever - Mam, Dad, brother and sister”

…the list of fathers, mothers, sons, daughters, brothers, and sisters goes on.

With the new road coming in the next couple of years, what will happen to these memorials? Will a bull-dozer erase each memorial in the name of progress and faster travel? Will we ever drive past these tragic black spots again – wondering who they are dedicated to? Will our driving behaviour worsen in the absence of these reminders of our mortality? The people who build dual-carriageways tell us that they are safer than the older roads – too late for the N11 tragedies.

It’s not just the N11 that is dotted with memorials – all over the country, roads are marked with crosses and flowers to remind us of the grim toll on our nation’s roads. This is also a world wide phenomenon – in the US, some states ban the practice outright, in California you must pay $1,000 to erect a roadside memorial. There are even web sites dedicated to showing pictures, messages, and discussions about roadside memorials.

I think I’d like a memorial to mark the spot should I die in a road accident – simple flowers and a message “To all who pass this spot – slow down and take care”.

My Harley Davidson

This is me on my 2003 Special Centenary Edition Harley-Davidson Heritage Softail Classic. This picture was taken for an Irish Times article called "My Bike and I" which was published in the Motoring Section on June 11th, 2003 - you can read the full article on-line by clicking here.

This is of course my pride and joy - I use it almost everyday to go to work and it has to be the coolest way to commute.

My longest trip was from Dublin to Almancil on the Portuguese Algarve - and back. Just over 5,000 KM. I must write a Blog post about this trip.

My First Post

It's taken a long time but I've finally created my own blog. Here I hope to publish some thoughts, articles, reports, short stories, other publications - all of my own.

This is my first post!