In those days you’d have more people stopping than not stopping. People who had cars seemed to take pride in picking lads up who didn’t and helping them out. How life has changed…
7 Likes
Things really slowed up around the mid 80s. It was no bother get a lift before then. I’d thumb going to and from college. In the end I got a sign. I think it helped a bit. You’d meet some characters. Even women would pick you up back then.
Got a lift off a farmer around Callan one morning. He only stopped so that I could give him a hand loading some cattle about a mile down the road.
Used even thumb out of Limerick City after a few pints when I started working in Raheen first. No bother getting a lift on O’Connell avenue. One of the hardest places to get a lift was on the Parade in Kilkenny. Disaster of a place.
Finally got a car late 80s. Was going into work one evening and stopped at the lights at the Union Cross. An auld one opened the door and sat in. “Take me home like a good lad”, and she wasn’t getting out. My first time in Southhill. I was all flustered running in late for work, and as luck would have it I met the boss in the corridor. Sure he was struggling to keep a straight face.
17 Likes
I thumbed regularly, as in daily, up until about 2003 when I left the country. My ma told.me when I was about 15, after asking her for a lift, ‘youre big enough and old enough to hitch’ so off I went.
Some days tougher than others to get a lift. Had some great experiences from back of hi-ace with a load of travellers to a lovely old dear who used time her run from Shannon to town to give me a lift!
Think I said it before but got a lift off an older guy one day who said he’d never stop for a woman again. Was heading out old Dublin road past parkway and picked up a girl going to Nenagh. Just as they got to outskirts of nenagh, she started shrieking and screaming. Your man rattled asks ‘what the fuck is wrong?’. She says ‘if you don’t give me every penny in your wallet, I’m going to the guards and will say you tried to rape me’.
Your man said he’d the clarity of mind to drive straight to the guards with her in the car. Turns out she been caught doing similar previously. Guy said gave him an awful fright. You’d wonder how many shovelled money at her and just threw her out of the car
11 Likes
My aul lad would pick up hitchhikers fairly regularly if just me and him going to Galway.
It was fairly evolved. Lad on side of road with a sign of where he was going.
If we were on a short trip the aul lad would point his right index finger towards the ditch to let the hitchhiker know we were only going up the road and weren’t snubbing him.
This was a common enough one in the country back in the day.
Fella might give a female neighhbour a lift home and she would look for money on the promise of telling his wife that he tried it on.
There was a few things that happened that finished hitching. First hitch hikers started suing drivers for personal injuries where there was a minor tip. Second the JoJo Dullard disappearance took all female hitchhikers off the road overnight. Third the likes of Kavanaghs came in with cheap bus fares. My memory was that it was 30 pounds to get the train. Kavanaghs was 10 pounds. It wasn’t worth most people’s while traipsing out to Newlands Cross for the sake of a tenner whereas it was for 30 quid. Fourth the advent of the advent of the new N7 and M50 made hitching impossible/lethal. Fifth was the Rutger Hauer movie the Hitcher.
I used to work in Kilkenny before I had a car and I used to walk out to the Waterford road every night to hitch a lift home. Most nights I’d get a lift. If I didn’t I’d walk back to McDonagh junction and get the 7 o clock train home.
The last time I picked up a hitcher was about 10 years ago. Some poor owl divil in the pouring rain at Leighlin going into mass in the Cathedral in Carlow of a Sunday morning.
8 Likes
Lot more people have cars now too, which is probably the biggest thing
True that.
I’d still pull in for hitchers who only seem to appear in the Summer months anymore. Last was a couple of Tunisian lads needing a lift from Lahinch to Enistymon.
Knowing exactly what it’s like to be left stood waiting for someone to pull in, I try return the favour when possible.
5 Likes
Agree. I’d say increasing personal wealth did for it as much as anything.
Better in car entertainment. You’d no need for a chat with a stranger.
1 Like
Would he bother raising his hand off the steering wheel to point?
That was a great watch at the time.
I think there was a remake of it a good few years ago.
2 Likes
1 Like
6 minute abs…
2 Likes
The secret was a hurley and/or gearbag.
Lads would pick you up out of curiosity. You paid for the trip by making up a few tales about playing for a county beyond the horizon.
3 Likes
There’s nothing a hurley couldnt do.
It didn’t work on The Parade in Kilkenny.
We’d all be carrying hurls there sure……
Tis like Christmas eve night for me here. Have my godson’s communion tomorrow. He’s got non-verbal autism and is the most intelligent being I know. A proud proud moment to see the lad reach a nice milestone like that. Then after that off up the m11 to watch the Champions Cup final. Never in my wildest dreams that I’d ever think I’d see a farmer from Campile turn out to be the world’s greatest prop when I went to my first Leinster game in 2002 or that. Be one of those days I’ll remember for the rest of my life. Enjoy your weekend men 
38 Likes
Lovely few words about your godson, he seems an absolute belter fair play to all involved.
I was going to make a derogatory comment about the rogbee but I restrained myself.
11 Likes