'You have to smile': Lollipop person of the year says he enjoys the craic with all his little charges
'My two knees are knocking, I'm just blown away by it all,' Lollipop person of the year and Corkman Ger Gleeson said after his win.
The retired firefighter is now hoping for a 'double win for Cork' with the hurling final in the coming weeks, he said with a grin.
Mr Gleeson has worked as a much-loved lollipop man at Bunscoil Mhuire in Youghal, Co Cork, since 2015.
His wife died after a long illness almost 11 years ago and the job 'did help me cope' with her tragic loss.
Lollipop man Ger Gleeson celebrates with children at Bunscoil Mhuire, Youghal, Co Cork, after he was named the Tonstix Lollipop Person of the Year 2025. Picture: Dan Linehan
'Work keeps the mind going, keeps the body going, and keeps everything going,' he said.
'We married when we were 19 years old. We were together ever since, we were together in the heydays. But she got sick at 43 and died when she was only 56, so she was a very young woman.'
Previously, Mr Gleeson served his local community as a firefighter in Youghal for almost 30 years.
'I had been retired from the local fire service for 12 months when I saw an advert for the lollipop job," he said.
Senior infant Luke Cliff with Lollipop man Ger Gleeson at Bunscoil Mhuire, Youghal, Co Cork. Ger says of Luke: 'He has own little lollipop stick with a 'stop' sign on it that his mum and dad made for him. And he has his own lollipop jacket that's similar to mine.' Picture: Dan Linehan
With 'a small few fumes still left in the tank' post-retirement he decided to apply.
'Luckily I got it,' Mr Gleeson said. 'I'm there since.
'I have five grandchildren myself and I love them with all my heart. So I get on with kids.
You get to know all the children, all the parents, grandparents over the years. I've made so many good friends.
"It's like a men's shed sometimes. You meet so many people down there.'
Mr Gleeson was announced the winner in the Tonstix Lollipop person of the year competition at a special ceremony at the school on Monday.
Bunscoil Mhuire principal Eoghan O'Neill playing the drums after lollipop man Ger Gleeson was named the Tonstix Lollipop Person of the Year in Youghal, Co Cork. Picture Dan Linehan
He received a trophy, a plaque and a €1,000 travel voucher.
'Hail, rain or shine,' he's out there to help the children safely cross the road in the east Cork town every school morning and has developed particular bonds with some of the children in the schools autism classes.
Tonstix Lollipop Person of the Year 2025 Ger Gleeson helping children from Bunscoil Mhuire, Youghal, Co Cork cross the road safely. Picture: Dan Linehan
'You need to be sociable,' he said.
'You can't go to work with a sour face. You have to smile.
The kids are going to school every morning and you don't want to ever see a child upset going into school."
All the children know his name and call him Ger.
But one 'very special little fella' called Luke who has become a major fan of Mr Geeson's calls him 'granddad'.
'He has own little lollipop stick with a 'stop' sign on it that his mum and dad made for him. And he has his own lollipop jacket that's similar to mine.
Sinéad Crowther of Tonstix with Ger Gleeson at Bunscoil Mhuire, Youghal, Co Cork where he was named Lollipop Person of the Year 2025. Picture: Dan Linehan
'He has to watch me every morning and evening."
'He's just adorable.
'There are a lot of really special kids there.'
Retirement can be lonely for many people and Mr Gleeson said that a job like this can really keep people connected and engaged in their community.
'It gets you out of the house every morning, keeps you going," he said.
You can get into an awful rut if you retire and you have no hobbies.
'I cycle at the weekends and school holidays, the greenway in Waterford is fantastic.
'I'm living close to my grandchildren, they all come down to me nearly every day so I'm lucky.'
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Retired fireman in the running to be named Ireland's best lollipop person
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Irish Examiner
5 days ago
- Irish Examiner
'You have to smile': Lollipop person of the year says he enjoys the craic with all his little charges
'My two knees are knocking, I'm just blown away by it all,' Lollipop person of the year and Corkman Ger Gleeson said after his win. The retired firefighter is now hoping for a 'double win for Cork' with the hurling final in the coming weeks, he said with a grin. Mr Gleeson has worked as a much-loved lollipop man at Bunscoil Mhuire in Youghal, Co Cork, since 2015. His wife died after a long illness almost 11 years ago and the job 'did help me cope' with her tragic loss. Lollipop man Ger Gleeson celebrates with children at Bunscoil Mhuire, Youghal, Co Cork, after he was named the Tonstix Lollipop Person of the Year 2025. Picture: Dan Linehan 'Work keeps the mind going, keeps the body going, and keeps everything going,' he said. 'We married when we were 19 years old. We were together ever since, we were together in the heydays. But she got sick at 43 and died when she was only 56, so she was a very young woman.' Previously, Mr Gleeson served his local community as a firefighter in Youghal for almost 30 years. 'I had been retired from the local fire service for 12 months when I saw an advert for the lollipop job," he said. Senior infant Luke Cliff with Lollipop man Ger Gleeson at Bunscoil Mhuire, Youghal, Co Cork. Ger says of Luke: 'He has own little lollipop stick with a 'stop' sign on it that his mum and dad made for him. And he has his own lollipop jacket that's similar to mine.' Picture: Dan Linehan With 'a small few fumes still left in the tank' post-retirement he decided to apply. 'Luckily I got it,' Mr Gleeson said. 'I'm there since. 'I have five grandchildren myself and I love them with all my heart. So I get on with kids. You get to know all the children, all the parents, grandparents over the years. I've made so many good friends. "It's like a men's shed sometimes. You meet so many people down there.' Mr Gleeson was announced the winner in the Tonstix Lollipop person of the year competition at a special ceremony at the school on Monday. Bunscoil Mhuire principal Eoghan O'Neill playing the drums after lollipop man Ger Gleeson was named the Tonstix Lollipop Person of the Year in Youghal, Co Cork. Picture Dan Linehan He received a trophy, a plaque and a €1,000 travel voucher. 'Hail, rain or shine,' he's out there to help the children safely cross the road in the east Cork town every school morning and has developed particular bonds with some of the children in the schools autism classes. Tonstix Lollipop Person of the Year 2025 Ger Gleeson helping children from Bunscoil Mhuire, Youghal, Co Cork cross the road safely. Picture: Dan Linehan 'You need to be sociable,' he said. 'You can't go to work with a sour face. You have to smile. The kids are going to school every morning and you don't want to ever see a child upset going into school." All the children know his name and call him Ger. But one 'very special little fella' called Luke who has become a major fan of Mr Geeson's calls him 'granddad'. 'He has own little lollipop stick with a 'stop' sign on it that his mum and dad made for him. And he has his own lollipop jacket that's similar to mine. Sinéad Crowther of Tonstix with Ger Gleeson at Bunscoil Mhuire, Youghal, Co Cork where he was named Lollipop Person of the Year 2025. Picture: Dan Linehan 'He has to watch me every morning and evening." 'He's just adorable. 'There are a lot of really special kids there.' Retirement can be lonely for many people and Mr Gleeson said that a job like this can really keep people connected and engaged in their community. 'It gets you out of the house every morning, keeps you going," he said. You can get into an awful rut if you retire and you have no hobbies. 'I cycle at the weekends and school holidays, the greenway in Waterford is fantastic. 'I'm living close to my grandchildren, they all come down to me nearly every day so I'm lucky.' Read More Retired fireman in the running to be named Ireland's best lollipop person
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Kelleher joins Brentford and says 'it wasn't difficult to leave Liverpool'
Caoimhín Kelleher sealed his move to Brentford today and insisted it was an easy decision to leave champions Liverpool. The Ireland international has signed a five-year deal with the Bees in a move that could be worth €21 million with performance related add-ons. And the contract includes an option to extend the stay by a further 12 months. Kelleher - who made 67 appearances for Liverpool - won a second Premier League medal this season but was desperate to become a No 1 in his own right. Brentford were in the market for a quality goalkeeper after selling Mark Flekken to Bayer Leverkusen. And after completing the transfer, Cork man Kelleher, 26, said: 'I'm buzzing, I'm really happy to be here. 'I don't think it was very difficult for me to leave Liverpool. I felt for my own career that the time was right for me to go, to be a no.1 and to play every week. 'I heard of some interest a number of weeks ago. Once I knew Brentford was in for me, it was definitely one I was really excited about and wanted to do as quickly as possible. 'When I come back for pre-season, all focus will be on what I want to do next year; to work on certain goals and what I need to improve on.' Kelleher skipped Ireland's training session on Monday to complete his medical but was back with the Boys in Green in Dublin today. He will join forces with Ireland team-mate Nathan Collins at Brentford and Kelleher revealed how Collins helped persuade him to sign. 'I spoke to Nathan. He spoke really well about the whole club. It'll make it easier for me to settle in and be nice to have a few friendly faces,' said the Corkman. Kelleher continued: 'I came down to meet the manager and some of the coaches. They spoke to me about why they wanted me to be here and showed me around. 'It was interesting to see their point of view on why they wanted to sign me and how they think they can develop my game. 'It was impressive and I think the club's a really good fit for me. They've got a really good track record of improving and developing players which is what's drawn here.' Brentford's Director of football Phil Giles insists Kelleher was always their first choice target once they knew Flekken was leaving. Giles said: 'I'm very pleased to welcome Caoimhín to Brentford. We have scouted him in the past and were aware that he had a year to go on his contract with Liverpool. 'When Mark Flekken had the opportunity to move to Bayer Leverkusen, we immediately thought about Caoimhín as his replacement. 'As well as being a very good goalkeeper, I've rarely met a player for whom everybody has such positive words to say about his personality and character.' And Brentford goalkeeper coach Manu Sotelo feels there is even more to come from Kelleher. 'Caoimhín is a young keeper full of talent who has already proven how he can perform in the Premier league as well as Europe,' said Sotelo. 'He is calm and obsessed with improving. His best quality is his agility and he is a clever goalkeeper, with positioning and awareness being key elements of his game. 'With us, I'm confident he will achieve the next level in terms of performance and show the potential he has. I'm looking forward to working with him.'
Irish Times
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Throwing shapes: Frank McNally on the mysteries of the Hiberno-English ‘gimp'
Reader and writer Michael Flanagan has appealed for my help with a word he 'used in a story' recently, only to be told that his intended meaning is now redundant and liable to be misunderstood. The word was 'gimp'. And it's funny he should ask, because ever since hearing this term applied to myself a while back, I've been wondering what it means too. A year or two ago, I fell into conversation with an affable Corkman who was married to a woman from Kingscourt, a town close to where I grew up (albeit on the other side of the peace wall with Cavan ). This had lent him certain insights into the people of my native Carrickmacross . So much so, apparently, that he would not have needed to be told where I was from. 'You have a real Carrick gimp on you,' he said. READ MORE It was meant affectionately, I think (insofar as you can ever be certain with Cork people). But I had to look it up afterwards, just in case, and was not entirely reassured. I found that in English dictionaries, where it's considered 'US and Canadian offensive slang', the primary meaning is 'a physically disabled person, especially one who is lame'. Then I turned to Terry Dolan's Dictionary of Hiberno-English, which may be nearer the mark in the context intended by my Leeside friend. There, a gimp is said to be a person's 'demeanour, bearing, appearance'. Illustrating which, Dolan cites a sample usage from Meath: 'You'd know by the gimp of him he was a guard.' Michael Flanagan gives his own, highly detailed, understanding of the word, as follows: 'I always took it as describing a practised, assertive, loose-limbed walk – as cultivated by an Irish navvy in the London of the postwar era in order to enhance and reinforce his aura of assertive masculinity when walking on to a building site.' And right enough, the building site bit aside, a loose-limbed walk projecting an aura of assertive masculinity was what I used to aim for as a teenager, when nervously approaching Kingscourt girls in the Granada Ballroom on Sunday nights. Now, Michael has been told, the old meaning of gimp has been superseded by a 'modern sadomasochistic association': referring to a leather or rubber body suit, including mask. You wouldn't want to have had that sort of gimp on you in the Granada Ballroom, although looking back, a mask might have improved my chances. I'm still a little concerned about what the exactly the Cork friend meant, given how Dolan also notes that 'gimp' can carry the suggestion of 'overbearing behaviour'. But I'm somewhat relieved to see in the archives that our current President has used the word at least once, with affectionate intent, in a funeral eulogy. Back when he was a TD and recent Arts minister, Michael D Higgins paid tribute to the late actor Donal McCann as someone whose talent was 'a kind of truculent gimp aimed at excellence'. That sounds like a compliment, of sorts. As for my Cork friend's implication there was a specific Carrickmacross gimp, this raises the possibility that, as with traditional fiddle-playing styles, there were local and regional variations. Now that the meaning is threatened with extinction, it would be interesting to know if there was a distinct Galway gimp, for example, or a Mayo one. And if so, what were the defining characteristics. (On a separate note, the Galway Gimp sounds like the subject for a song, possibly by the Saw Doctors). Speaking of natural history, yesterday's column about Flann O'Brien and his fake letters led another reader to the discovery of a story about Carl Linnaeus and a fake butterfly. The link was the grammatical term 'eclipsis', which in Irish refers to the eclipse of one opening consonant by another. Hence the 'g' before the 'C' in Myles na gCopaleen. But when looking that term up, Colum Farrelly from Derry chanced upon the saga of Papilio ecclipsis, a rare butterfly so named by Linnaeus in a 1763 book. The butterfly had first been part of the collection of one William Charlton (1660 – 1702), until he gave it to his friend James Petiver (1665 – 1718), a London apothecary who had one of the world's biggest natural history collections. Petiver said of the otherwise unknown insect that it 'exactly resembles our English Brimstone butterfly were it not for those black spots and apparent blue moons in the lower wings'. In honour of its original owner, it became known as the Charlton Brimstone. The 'unique' specimen later devolved into the ownership of the British Museum, where it was eventually exposed as a hoax by a brilliant pupil of Linnaeus, Johann Christian Fabricius. In a 1793 book, Fabricius revealed that the butterfly was a common Brimstone after all, and that spots and moons had just been painted on. Some time after that, the specimen disappeared from the museum. The story goes that a keeper of the collection was so enraged by the fake, he stamped it to pieces. Getting back to the eclipsed Myles na gCopaleen, he simplified his name in 1952 when metamorphosing into Myles na Gopaleen, possibly with an eye to a wider readership, but much to the regret of Irish Times subeditors.
