In Memory of Ollie Gerrard
Donation protected
This Truck, Tractor & Vintage Car Run is being held in Memory of our friend Ollie Gerrard, who sadly passed away suddenly in Tenerife on the 28th December 2018. With the assistance of the Kevin Bell Repatriation Trust, Ollie’s remains were returned safely home to his loved ones. The KBRT aims to alleviate the financial hardship of bereaved families repatriating the body of loved ones who have died abroad in sudden or tragic circumstances. All proceeds from the run will go directly to the KBRT.
For those of you who didn’t know Ollie, we’ve put together a short piece that outlines his working life and the lives he touched over the years:
Ollie was well known in the North Meath and Westmeath areas and further beyond. A man, not known to shy away from work, he started at a young age helping out his uncle Pat Burke in Drumcree, before spending a few years with Gaughran’s on contract work. After that Ollie moved on to the Trucking scene, where he worked with McCaffreys on the milk runs, Dessie Reilly carrying containers and John Miller Transport, Mullingar, getting a taste for working on the continent, where he spent many happy years. The UK was next in line for Ollie where he spent some time doing tipper and low-loader work for Mick O’ Brien, who along with another colleague of Ollie’s,Sean Englishby, took the time specifically to travel to Ireland to pay their respects at Ollie’s funeral. After making the decision to return home to Ireland, Ollie invested in a truck of his own, a Green Scania 143 and low-loader where he travelled all over the country moving machinery. Machinery was always a passion for Ollie, even owning his own combine harvester, the bigger the machine the more joy Ollie took from it! Not one to rest on his laurels, he set off on his travels again and joined a harvesting team in the USA cutting corn from one state of America to the other. As if America wasn’t big enough for Ollie he even went as far as Australia to join the Harvest team down under for a few seasons! He absolutely lived for the machinery side of farming...he definitely was never fond of running after cattle or fencing ditches!! In recent years, when Ollie moved back home to help look after his mother alongside the rest of his family, he got work with Joe Baugh Quarries ,Snows Quarries in Oldcastle and Carrs Quarries in Clonmellon and many the local farmer he helped out with seasonal work, before returning to Gaughran Brothers where he was known for his hard work ethic and likable nature.
On a personal level, Ollie was a country man at heart and had a great passion for the country music, Stetson hat & cowboy boot scene!! He travelled many a mile to attend country festivals and shows to see his favourite performers & jive the night away until the early hours. Ollie was a jovial character and always enjoyed the craic, sentiments his wide circle of family and friends would strongly agree with. We will all miss him terribly.
About the run itself, the Truck & Tractor Run will take place on Sunday 05th May 2019. All vehicles are welcome from vintage cars to motorbikes, anything that burns rubber basically!!! Registration will start at 11AM in Gaughrans Transport yard, Ballinlough, where there will be ample parking available. Entry per vehicle is €30. Our convoy of vehicles will then depart Ballinlough at 13:00pm, with the full route to be disclosed closer to the date. Upon returning to Ballinlough, there will be refreshments & entertainment in the Halfway House. So Please join us for a great day of burning diesel, having the craic, raising a few Euro for a great cause, and most importantly REMEMBERING OLLIE.
For those of you who didn’t know Ollie, we’ve put together a short piece that outlines his working life and the lives he touched over the years:
Ollie was well known in the North Meath and Westmeath areas and further beyond. A man, not known to shy away from work, he started at a young age helping out his uncle Pat Burke in Drumcree, before spending a few years with Gaughran’s on contract work. After that Ollie moved on to the Trucking scene, where he worked with McCaffreys on the milk runs, Dessie Reilly carrying containers and John Miller Transport, Mullingar, getting a taste for working on the continent, where he spent many happy years. The UK was next in line for Ollie where he spent some time doing tipper and low-loader work for Mick O’ Brien, who along with another colleague of Ollie’s,Sean Englishby, took the time specifically to travel to Ireland to pay their respects at Ollie’s funeral. After making the decision to return home to Ireland, Ollie invested in a truck of his own, a Green Scania 143 and low-loader where he travelled all over the country moving machinery. Machinery was always a passion for Ollie, even owning his own combine harvester, the bigger the machine the more joy Ollie took from it! Not one to rest on his laurels, he set off on his travels again and joined a harvesting team in the USA cutting corn from one state of America to the other. As if America wasn’t big enough for Ollie he even went as far as Australia to join the Harvest team down under for a few seasons! He absolutely lived for the machinery side of farming...he definitely was never fond of running after cattle or fencing ditches!! In recent years, when Ollie moved back home to help look after his mother alongside the rest of his family, he got work with Joe Baugh Quarries ,Snows Quarries in Oldcastle and Carrs Quarries in Clonmellon and many the local farmer he helped out with seasonal work, before returning to Gaughran Brothers where he was known for his hard work ethic and likable nature.
On a personal level, Ollie was a country man at heart and had a great passion for the country music, Stetson hat & cowboy boot scene!! He travelled many a mile to attend country festivals and shows to see his favourite performers & jive the night away until the early hours. Ollie was a jovial character and always enjoyed the craic, sentiments his wide circle of family and friends would strongly agree with. We will all miss him terribly.
About the run itself, the Truck & Tractor Run will take place on Sunday 05th May 2019. All vehicles are welcome from vintage cars to motorbikes, anything that burns rubber basically!!! Registration will start at 11AM in Gaughrans Transport yard, Ballinlough, where there will be ample parking available. Entry per vehicle is €30. Our convoy of vehicles will then depart Ballinlough at 13:00pm, with the full route to be disclosed closer to the date. Upon returning to Ballinlough, there will be refreshments & entertainment in the Halfway House. So Please join us for a great day of burning diesel, having the craic, raising a few Euro for a great cause, and most importantly REMEMBERING OLLIE.
Organizer
Susan Farrell
Organizer
