@@seanmaher7733so true my father in-law was from Kerry Michael Collins I met nearly 50 yrs ago in Kerry a pure gentleman so reserved so quite I've never forgot that man I got rid of his son after eleven yrs of marriage a waste of space
@@eileenhavern77 well it works both ways and everyone has to take the good with the bad, not cherry pick! You tell me the last time you watched a women up to her ass in shit working in freezing conditions with the rain running down the back of her neck?
Laughed out loud. "He also won the Tour de France twenty two times by accident..." That would have been a great line in the doncumentary if Monty Python had done it! :-) Well done!
@@nacholibre1962 .....Actually , the posty who did dominate The Tour de France was the Australian posty in the 1930s . He was known as Oppy . He was in France so often that he learned to speak good French too . ..Good chance he had Irish background though .
Sounds like something from Forrest Gump. Delivering letters and accidentally taking part in Toue de France, ends up helping the real winner finish the race
@@nikkijackson2981 I googled about it. There’s some news articles on it and if you search his name you can find when he died. Looks like he had a good long life.
I cycled my post route in my early 20's, I've not a patch on this gentleman, I'd have been bolloxed doing his route in my 20's and hes 65 here still going strong, now that's what you call a proper hardman
@@1invag I mean it is still long gone, 1975 was 46 years ago. The way life was in 1975 is very different than the way life is now, even in more slower paced areas such as rural Ireland.
This moved me. A lifetime of quiet, stoic service to rural people - as others have said, imagine the conditions that man performed in.....and all on top of looking after a farm!!
Irish folk are built different, it’s amazing how they survived back then. My dad was born in Ireland a rural village in the Midlands, came from a big family. One meal a day, if you didn’t eat your food quick because of the other siblings- there was no food to eat the rest of the day, now he always eats everything at every meal
@@michaelhanford8139 When you have a big family that's all you had to feed them. Some came from a family of 5-8 siblings in a 2 bedroom house. My dad said the dogs used to get a slice of bread if they were lucky. Even in that state of poor you had beggers knocking asking for food
I cycle 7 miles everyday to work and 7 miles every day back and that's before you starting work. Let's not get carried away, it's not that far 😅 you could walk that in 8 hours easily. Now the postie who did walk that every day deserves a pat on the back
Sounds like a wonderful existence - he gets to be outside all the time, has no deadlines or time limitations as long as he completes his rounds, and can enjoy the smells and the sights and the sounds of the countryside. All the while being paid to exercise and stay healthy! Lovely, and enviable.
@@kennybrianshjreklunke4842 I used to live in rural Kerry, a bit north of where this is. Every day, to get a break from my desk job, I'd go cycling - only about 15-20 kilometers a day, because that was all I had time for, but when I say this is basically a dream job, I speak advisedly! It's a gorgeous, gorgeous part of the world, and very mild - it hardly ever snows or sleets. And perfect for cycling.
And how about visiting woman at their houses while their men are away for work? This guy has children everywhere. Every day he gets home tired. One of my friends works for a company delivering flowers. The customers are mostly female. He is always busy keeping the customers happy. It completely changed him. Always a huge smile on his face!
the sad thing now is that most of these Rural post offices in ireland have long since been closed ... many villages in the countryside have no bank and no post office .. really affects the social fabric of rural communities.. and causes a lot of social isolation
Some are long closed and some are recently closed or soon to close. The paltry saving of closing dozens a year seem to please the management in An Post no end.
The real cause of rural isolation is that people live in isolated houses instead of villages. No amount of post offices will fix the problems associated with this.
@@fintonmainz7845 Many/most of those people are there because they farm the land or have other ties to it that make it impossible to leave. You can’t live away from a farm because it’s usually something that you need to tend to from first thing in the morning until last thing at night. You don’t clock out at 5 o’clock and go home. When there was a network of post offices, shops and pubs, there was a social outlet for these people. That’s been eroded now.
Spent my years from 18-21 being a cycling postman in Donegal, Ireland and I'll tell you that this man is not the last of his breed. There were those older than me that are still doing cycle-only posts in their 50s
To note though that the cycling posts today are usually done throughout towns and urban areas rather than in rural areas. Also, there has been a push from An Post at a national level to combine a lot of these routes into Van routes where possible. Even in my short time doing it I had my fair share of days where it is pissing down with the rain and you are struggling to keep the letters dry using a bin bag inside the post bad. Can't imagine what it was like for this man back in 1975.
I think this sort of things resonates within so many people who watch it because despite the role of a cycling postman in the mountains of Ireland being largely superfluous, it is immediately appreciable in its simple, hard-working and honest nature. This man has dedicated his life to traveling the equivalent of hundreds of thousands of miles around the planet in order to bring folks their mail on time, but he's also undoubtedly become an inextricable part of their lives. There is a truth and beauty in someone keeping a tiny yet precious part of their local culture alive.
@@rivolinho I'll step in... Craythur is like a description of someone whom you love and respect but also feel empathy for. When we were kids for example and if we we're sick with a cold or fever my Grandmother God rest her would say "ah ya poor Craythur" Sorry for the weird explanation but hope it helps.
Imagine how that type of respect would be disregarded and trampled on in today’s selfish, dumbass society. The world doesn’t deserve men like this anymore.
Wow great man,god bless him I remember the postman in Ireland delivering the post on his bike and you would here him whistle to know he was coming,it was a good thing to find out the happenings of the neighbourhood there was no phone.😊😉
No no, it couldn’t have been the same man. He was born in 1909/1910, meaning he would have been 108/9 in 2018. This would make him the second or first oldest Irishman ever, which isn’t the case. Michael is a common name and I’m sure Sheehan is also, so it will be harder to find him. The Michael Sheehan that died in 2018 could have been his son, if he had any, and if he was from the same area. The Michael Sheehan we see here has passed on, but not in 2018.
That ol Boy has legs of steel & will probably live past 100 years, my Grandmother from Cork born in 1890 died in 1993, 103 years old left Ireland in the 50's came to the U.S made her way to the west coast Portland, OR USA Lived to see 3 generations after her
@@ReasonAboveEverything No, he didn’t. That would make him one of the top 3 oldest Irishman to ever live, and there is no mention of that anywhere. Michael Shaheen is a common name, plus it could have been his son.
In primary school, after classes I used to ride along with local postman and help him deliver some letters. He always bought me coke or ice cream. I thought it was the best job ever, riding bicycle all day long.
Class. My father used to drive around rural parts of Kerry and west Cork in a blue transit in the 80s and early 90s selling workwear (wellingtons, work boots etc) to all the farmers. I used to love going out with him when I was young. Deadly memories. Country has changed so much since then ☮️
We'd a postman, Christy, all through the 80s. He'd been cycling many miles for over 30 years at that point. Rain, hail or shine he always delivered the post on his bike. An Post gave him a green van in the early 90s. Made life easier for the poor man. Once a month he'd give all the kids in our area a small bag of Jelly Tots or a roll of Silvermints. RIP Chrisy.
Amazon put a lot of smaller tax paying companies out off business, the extra staff now working at amazon don't exactly earn much. Most of the profits go to America (majority of the shareholders)
My father used to drive around rural parts of Kerry and west Cork in the 80s and early 90s selling workwear (wellingtons, boots etc) to mainly farmers. I used to love heading out with him for the day when I was a kid. Brilliant memory's. People were so genuine and honest back then, it was class. My child is growing up in a different Ireland than I did. Man, the country has changed so much since then ☮️☮️☮️
@@karkkimarkkinat2109 the obvious change would be that they use cars 🚗 in the country... the video should be called "the last of the rural country cycling postmen" people were much more trusting back then. Eg ppl never locked their doors. I can remember running in to the houses my father used to sell workwear to, doors were never locked and we'd always end up staying for a cup of tea and a chat. It's not like that anymore. We're you living in rural kerry in the 80s and 90s?
@@lennoxforeman601 I was living in a small town in northern Finland in the 90's. It was more like that back then too. I remember how everyone in the neighborhood knew each other and we're friendly (most of the time 😂) but nowadays it's like everyone is paranoid of each other and mentally ill. People have lost all social skills and are neurotic. I hate it.
@@karkkimarkkinat2109 truth bro. Times are constantly changing and we have to adapt. I was let lose as a kid out in the country and had an amazing childhood. Everyone was welcoming and everyone always saluted each other. I If I let my children loose like I was left, my children would be taken off me. Different times bro. ✌✌✌
I was a postman in a small country town in south west australia in 1963 I did the whole town on my cycle In all weathers and dogs All post boxes on fences
@@archdukehamburgervononionr1948 Yes I was quite lucky Quite a few were after it I attained the highest Mark's in The aptitude test It was only a year then I was transferred elsewhere
A lovely film! ... I love Ireland by my heart, I have been there eight times and lived and worked there for some time at the end of the 80's and in the early 90's, Cork City, West Cork, Schull, Kinsale, Crosshaven… I know it well, I like to remember it quite often ❤️🍀 from South Germany
Such a nice man! Respect! 👍That's the reason why he's been sick just once in his life and he probably became a hundred years old... I would have loved to have met him.. 😊
I say he saw plenty of things along the way and wasnt short of a story you forget its men like him that were the bedrock of rural Ireland back in the day.
Awwww....I loved that! 💜 Thank you! I have been disabled with chronic illness for 28 years now, but before that I "lived" on my bike! Grew up in Norfolk, England and we were poor. Mum and dad travelled everywhere by bike, and I was on a wee seat on dad's crossbar. The highlight of my young life, was getting my first bike, aged 4 ....a little tricycle. I was never off it! Lol When my grandad died, I progressed to his bike, which was exactly the same as the one that this lovely gentleman was riding! In my early teens, I got a part time job, and I saved and saved, until finally, I bought a beautiful Claud Butler drop handlebar bike. That bike was my life! I travelled/worked all over the UK (never got to tour Ireland, sadly), and cycled all over the UK, eventually getting a hand built tourer, which I named "Nomad" 😅. Carried on cycling, even though I was getting more and more ill, until I just couldn't do it any more. Needless to say, my beloved bike remains in my loft! I just couldn't part with it! Sorry for rambling....this story kind of touched my heart ❤ The postman reminded me of my grandad, and his old bike (the one I inherited) It was a simpler time....a wonderful time.
As a latin american, even though I manage English very well, when I see "Ireland" and it is about an old person, I think "Oh boy this is gonna be tough" because the accent is so dense hahaha it is really hard to understand. Interesting video!
@@alberto9827 In Ireland we have only been speaking English language since the 1890s, fluently, we still use Gaelic words in our conversations , and some areas speak Gaelic fluently as their first Language, I'm in Cartagena Colombia ,my wife is Colombian, and The Spanish here is much different than in Spain, Unfortunately not many people speak native languages here, sad to see,, this is the effects of Empires, Saludos para ti, Beannachtaí oraibh a chara .there i
@@johnkelly1787 Ohhhh that is why some of the stuff he speaks about is almost impossible to understand for me! And yeah, spanish is one of those languages that can change drastically by location, that is why non spanish speakers find a hard time to learn it hahaha Gracias y saludos desde Costa Rica!
Reporter: Are you ready for retirement, Mike? Mike the Postman: (Tilts head back and laughs, starts pedaling like a madman as his bike levitates into the cloudy blue sky.)
Bravo, man !! You are a real hero! Always on the road, talking with all the people around, standing all weather! What a great man! I love the postman! ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
My great grandfather did this in the 30s/40s Newport, Tipperary ☘️ loved hearing the stories from my nanny about being collected from school with his bike.
I remember our local postman Gerry in the 60's and 70's in North Cork, hail rain or shine he was out, he had a farm as well and used to buy calves from my father. He got a Honda 50 in about 1972. His son rang me after my father died to send his condolences, What hardy men they were, the backbone of the community, the internet of the time with all the latest news!
Men like Mike you don't get them anymore. A credit for ability and willingness to go the extra mile. A great example of how to get on with the job. Excellent.👍
You won't see that man complaining of chest pain or diabetes, fit as a prize greyhound and as tough as nails ,is it any wonder the men of west cork had the tans running in circles with old boys like that around
Hell nooo! that’s why our ancestors and forefathers are so strong they’re weren’t weakened by technology they actually lived better healthier lives and didn’t no better so goes to show the heart and mind we’re ironclad as well as the body
@@sylezmakefightz9727 they certainly were ,the other factors were no chemicals or poison pesticides in foods although their diet was small and not so varied everything was home grown natural including the meat ,my grandfather at over 70 could have out worked most 50 year old today, he was a tough old Irish man born in 1905 I know I cut timber with him and brought up in the same home, those great people are gone now and their toughness with them
My father was a post man in the 50s...I can remember him getting up at 5 30 am ,to cycle 10 miles to get to his rounds,in all kinds of weather...l don't think anyone would do or be up to it now these days...N I.
I bet your bin men still work like true Celts all year round. I do in Scotland. walk/run 5-11 miles a day up at 4:30 am sharp and I'm not lugging letters i'm lugging bins weighing 15kg-450kg. I'm fitter now in my 40's than I've ever been.
You are wrong. My husband has done this for 15 years in South West Victoria. Rain hail shine he rides his bicycle to work 8km each way and rides his postie round on top of that maybe 70km. He's 50. He has supported our family of 3 kids through school and uni. He has my greatest respect.
Very touching video... My grandfather was a cycling postmen in Normandy, France. One time he was fined for "bike overload". He was carrying too many parcels.
My mother was brought up on a hill farm in Aberdeenshire in the 1920s - she remembered one time when the postie on his bike handed her the post and informed her that her uncle was going to be visiting from the Philippines. The advantage was that the family didn't need to let any of the neighbours know. Even where we now live we have only fairly recently swapped from bike to van delivery
I started working for the PMG/Australia Post in 1974. I can assure you that we were still using pushbikes well into the 1980s as well as delivering on motor bikes and on foot.
My grandad cycled six and a half miles to the sorting office , six and a half back , then did his round .on busy days maybe twice , Christmas and mother's Day three times . No one spoke of it as unusual , it was your job . Great video , many memories 👍🇬🇧
As a Corkman myself I would love to go back in time and travel around my own native county 50 years ago and more before there ever was a Celtic Tiger anywhere in sight. Gorgeous quite country Ireland was then, north and south.
@@rinck17 the celtic tiger was the term used to describe the massive spurt and rapid expansion in the Republic of Ireland's economy in the 1990's through until the late 2000's. A Scandinavian economist first came up with it I believe.
@@ScouserLegend Ah it has. It has changed a fine good bit since those days I think anyhow. Not just socially but even physically with all the new roads crisscrossing the once fairly untouched landscape. I was born in the 1970s and grew up in the 1980s myself and I think we are a wholly different country now even from when I was a young fella going on a teenager.
Ahh, the good old days, when unmarried women were used as slaves, the Catholic church was the absolute ruler, babies were sold to the highest bidder( if they suvived at all..)Those days of a good struggle in the north....
After 42 years, this gentleman’s a*s must’ve been tougher than Kevlar. Seriously, men like this are few and far between now. He obviously was a very dedicated and hardworking man who took a tremendous amount of pride in his work.
Ah go away! I used to commute to work by bike from the city to Ballygarvan via the Myrtle Hill road. I'm assuming that's the hilly part you're referring to?
In 1992 I was lucky enough to spend a month in Ireland. I was 12, and my grandfather had living relatives there so we had a house to stay in, etc. Since I was young, I probably didn't appreciate it like I should but will always be in my memories.
Imagine what he could do with a modern lightweight bike. He's doing every day the same level of training winners of the big tours do with an entire support team. And they don't even take out their cows first! Incredible.
My Grandfather was a rural postman in Green Bay WI. The USPS gave him a car allowance which basically paid for a new car every couple of years which he needed given all the wear a postal route has. This was in the 1950s.
No, he didn’t. That would make him one of the oldest Irishman to ever live. Seeing the death notice says he will be missed by his wife, this means the man’s wife was also alive in 2018, which is just impossible. Not to mention the picture is of a man in his 60’s-70’s, not a man in his 100’s. This may have been his son, but this was not the postal man himself.
When Bicycles were first introduced to An Post, Postmen were not permitted to ride them, but rather the Bicycles were for the carriage of Mailbags, with the Postman walking alongside.
Lad I went to school with 40 years ago in Thurles, Tipperary, has been a postman on a bicycle he followed his father who was also a postman, but he isn't the only postman in the area who uses a bicycle... Lots of postal delivery personnel ( can't say postman anymore) still deliver post on a bicycle.
It’s 2021, and our postie still cycles around. This gem looks like he’s warming up for the Tour de France.. Nice.... 27 miles a day. God bless Mike Sheehan. Cows milked an’ all ... Bless..
I'm betting he didn't retire. A man like him would continue his rounds until he felt he was dying. And even then, he would finish his route before he gave in.
![Man Born in 1853 Talks About Childhood in the 1860s- Enhanced Video & Audio [60 fps]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/_oqbLSisnME/mqdefault.jpg)
Men like this were the backbone of rural Ireland back in the day, tough, dedicated, reliable - quiet heroes of the community.
How right you are. Without their like, communities fail.
@@seanmaher7733so true my father in-law was from Kerry Michael Collins I met nearly 50 yrs ago in Kerry a pure gentleman so reserved so quite I've never forgot that man I got rid of his son after eleven yrs of marriage a waste of space
Yes, I totally agree...funny how they only started screaming about equality when things got a easier!!!
@@PillSharks shocking... Imagine wanting to be treated equally at all!!!
@@eileenhavern77 well it works both ways and everyone has to take the good with the bad, not cherry pick!
You tell me the last time you watched a women up to her ass in shit working in freezing conditions with the rain running down the back of her neck?
Also for people that don’t have much contact with people a visit from the postman and a word of gossip meant a lot especially for the elderly .
That's deep shit
Absolutely. It still is that way in many rural communities.
A word of gossip has always meant a lot to anyone, it was just more rare to hear back then as we didn't have the world at our fingertips.
As a kid the post driver would have a stick of gum if you were there when he was at the box.
I drive a taxi in a small town in Eastern Kentucky, I do get a lot of shut-ins and the lonely.
He also won the Tour de France twenty two times by accident, they don’t make them like that anymore and he has my respect
The tour the what sorry friend I dint mean too I was just traying to do my job well got to go this letter arent going to deliver themselves
....aye one gear and they were a hoor to cycle...only real men could handle a 'High Nelly'
Laughed out loud. "He also won the Tour de France twenty two times by accident..." That would have been a great line in the doncumentary if Monty Python had done it! :-) Well done!
@@nacholibre1962 .....Actually , the posty who did dominate The Tour de France was the Australian posty in the 1930s . He was known as Oppy . He was in France so often that he learned to speak good French too .
..Good chance he had Irish background though .
Sounds like something from Forrest Gump. Delivering letters and accidentally taking part in Toue de France, ends up helping the real winner finish the race
I read a report that he lived to 108 years old. He would be 111 were he alive today. Impressive man.
In the days when ther were no fitness studios. Only the real thing.
How do you know?
@@nikkijackson2981 I googled about it. There’s some news articles on it and if you search his name you can find when he died. Looks like he had a good long life.
@@robfut9954 Thank you. Wow 108 though! That's immense. Tysm :)
All that exercise 💪 paid off. What a warrior.
I cycled my post route in my early 20's, I've not a patch on this gentleman, I'd have been bolloxed doing his route in my 20's and hes 65 here still going strong, now that's what you call a proper hardman
true old skool
@@philiplevins6702 proper old school, they dont make em like that nowadays
Snowflake.
A real 'iron man'!
@@laurenceoconnor6499 I'll snowflake you old man Larry
You’ve got to admire the Celtic toughness. Respect from the Netherlands 🇳🇱
Love our family in Holland XXX 💕
People I've all ways respected are Dr's nurses and posties god bless him x
Netherlands was celtic at one point too, most of europe was ....
@@weeg91 The Netherlands were Germanic. In France they were Celtic though, not too far
Lovely little slice of life from a time long gone.
The gentleman was so soft-spoken I hardly caught a word that wasn't "yes, no, I will, I won't" 😊
It's 1975 not 1875... Its only fricking 5 years before I was born haha
@@1invag k
@@brunogjna9224 What are you, 12?
@@1invag I feel you man dude making it sound like 1975 was like 1444
@@1invag I mean it is still long gone, 1975 was 46 years ago. The way life was in 1975 is very different than the way life is now, even in more slower paced areas such as rural Ireland.
Reminds me of my Dad. He was a postman for 43 years and cycled most of them. I see all that cycling helped. Today at 85 he is super fit
27 miles a day on a bike that weighed more than the anchor of the Titanic, while puffing a pack of silk cut blue.
lol or a pack of Major perhaps.
@@declanokeeffe84 Now yer talkin'
Silk Cut was only smoked during Lent you heathen.
He's old school,woodbines..........
And it's a time where there was probly more tar in the ciggerettes then on the road, them roads would shake the bones out of ya on the bike😬
This is bloody wonderful. That guy is made of steel. His stare and his grin. 27 miles ain’t so bad. We was obviously in great health from it!
27 miles ain't so bad? He was 65 you Muppet.
I believe STONA is articulating the postman's thoughts.
People like him reduce me to tears - so good, I have no words
😶
Really? Tears?
@@agathacathartese7041 Humans are known to cry tears sometimes
Yes; the simplicity, honesty and absence of ego. A real human.
The EU and open borders ruined Ireland . Most American cities are shot as well
This moved me. A lifetime of quiet, stoic service to rural people - as others have said, imagine the conditions that man performed in.....and all on top of looking after a farm!!
My DAD was a Postman from the age of sixteen until he retired at sixty cycling and walking , R I P DAD.
What a hardy fella 162 miles a week at 65 , God bless him.
That's a fair point. I first thought, "27 miles a day? That's not too bad", but yeah, 6 days a week of that adds up.
Legs like fucking concrete
Irish folk are built different, it’s amazing how they survived back then. My dad was born in Ireland a rural village in the Midlands, came from a big family. One meal a day, if you didn’t eat your food quick because of the other siblings- there was no food to eat the rest of the day, now he always eats everything at every meal
Why just one meal/day?
@@michaelhanford8139 When you have a big family that's all you had to feed them. Some came from a family of 5-8 siblings in a 2 bedroom house. My dad said the dogs used to get a slice of bread if they were lucky. Even in that state of poor you had beggers knocking asking for food
Cycled 27 miles a day ,6 days a week for 42 years in wellington boots! The man was a savage!
yup 353,808 miles
....I bet the three Yorkshiremen could give a yarn to top this one .
I cycle 7 miles everyday to work and 7 miles every day back and that's before you starting work. Let's not get carried away, it's not that far 😅 you could walk that in 8 hours easily. Now the postie who did walk that every day deserves a pat on the back
@@1invag and where are you from them?
@@1invag Is it a hilled area? Thats still less than half of what this man is doing, on top of working his cows in the early morning
They missed the bit where he admitted to fathering 175 children in Goleen.
what, really?
@@nitaistrange112 It's a joke about postmen having affairs with house wifes.
@@PenttiLinkola23 Ahhhh, xD, i got it now
'tis all in a day's work, innit
Pat Mustard
Sounds like a wonderful existence - he gets to be outside all the time, has no deadlines or time limitations as long as he completes his rounds, and can enjoy the smells and the sights and the sounds of the countryside. All the while being paid to exercise and stay healthy! Lovely, and enviable.
nowadays, postman is one of the most stressful job there is. Always more to do and faster
Not when it rains or snows.
now you do it
@@kennybrianshjreklunke4842 I used to live in rural Kerry, a bit north of where this is. Every day, to get a break from my desk job, I'd go cycling - only about 15-20 kilometers a day, because that was all I had time for, but when I say this is basically a dream job, I speak advisedly! It's a gorgeous, gorgeous part of the world, and very mild - it hardly ever snows or sleets. And perfect for cycling.
And how about visiting woman at their houses while their men are away for work? This guy has children everywhere. Every day he gets home tired. One of my friends works for a company delivering flowers. The customers are mostly female. He is always busy keeping the customers happy. It completely changed him. Always a huge smile on his face!
I live in Dublin today, and our neighbourhood postman always travels about on a bicycle. The tradition is alive and well.
Really!
Ohhh, that's nice to know!
Great to hear that!!
the sad thing now is that most of these Rural post offices in ireland have long since been closed ... many villages in the countryside have no bank and no post office .. really affects the social fabric of rural communities.. and causes a lot of social isolation
Some are long closed and some are recently closed or soon to close. The paltry saving of closing dozens a year seem to please the management in An Post no end.
The real cause of rural isolation is that people live in isolated houses instead of villages.
No amount of post offices will fix the problems associated with this.
@@fintonmainz7845 Many/most of those people are there because they farm the land or have other ties to it that make it impossible to leave. You can’t live away from a farm because it’s usually something that you need to tend to from first thing in the morning until last thing at night. You don’t clock out at 5 o’clock and go home.
When there was a network of post offices, shops and pubs, there was a social outlet for these people. That’s been eroded now.
What a nice man with a simple sense of values.
You’d almost want to protect him from the reality of today’s world
@@fintonmainz7845 I've never thumbed down a comment on yt but yours deserves it....asshole
As a Dutchman living in Ireland and loving the country and people to bits, I would love to do this job!
A Dutchman who wants to ride a bike, how surprising.
@@frank832 lol! A little more hilly tho 😁
You really wouldn't. These jobs break modern people.
Spent my years from 18-21 being a cycling postman in Donegal, Ireland and I'll tell you that this man is not the last of his breed. There were those older than me that are still doing cycle-only posts in their 50s
To note though that the cycling posts today are usually done throughout towns and urban areas rather than in rural areas. Also, there has been a push from An Post at a national level to combine a lot of these routes into Van routes where possible.
Even in my short time doing it I had my fair share of days where it is pissing down with the rain and you are struggling to keep the letters dry using a bin bag inside the post bad. Can't imagine what it was like for this man back in 1975.
I think this sort of things resonates within so many people who watch it because despite the role of a cycling postman in the mountains of Ireland being largely superfluous, it is immediately appreciable in its simple, hard-working and honest nature. This man has dedicated his life to traveling the equivalent of hundreds of thousands of miles around the planet in order to bring folks their mail on time, but he's also undoubtedly become an inextricable part of their lives. There is a truth and beauty in someone keeping a tiny yet precious part of their local culture alive.
Beautiful comment!
Great and very true
What a great man, an unsung hero. They certainly don't make them like that anymore. A humble pillar of his community.
For a non english speaker like me its really hard to understand irish people like this champ. God Bless people like him, strong men of the past.
@celticandliverpool80🇮🇪 Are thick accents like these any more? Or are they a thing of the past?
I find someone from Cork and kerry hard too understand a bit lol.
Television and pop music have watered down (usually Americanised) a lot of strong dialects now. A bit sad in a way.
Mighty video of a mighty craythur. Would bring a tear to the eye. Thanks a million for uploading.
Pity no non Irish seem to read these....
"Craythur.........what's craythur precious!?"
Thought it just meant whiskey but apparently means creature as well, is that correct?
@@rivolinho I'll step in... Craythur is like a description of someone whom you love and respect but also feel empathy for. When we were kids for example and if we we're sick with a cold or fever my Grandmother God rest her would say "ah ya poor Craythur"
Sorry for the weird explanation but hope it helps.
He got off his bike and walked it when he was passing a pedestrian, what a dacent gent 👍
looked like he was going to give her a letter maybe
He was stopping to hand her her post.
Imagine how that type of respect would be disregarded and trampled on in today’s selfish, dumbass society. The world doesn’t deserve men like this anymore.
@@salvatorejack6894 he dismounted to hand her her letters.
@@raftonpounder6696 maybe he dismounted so he count mount.....
You'll never find another bloke like him.
The joy of humanity is that is true for you, me and every one of 7.8 billion of us.
Praise the lord !
mr.bean
The maddest bit is that a posty owns a 15 acre farm what a time to be alive
I love these random videos I find every now and again.
This wonderful postman passed away in 2018. R.I.P. Mike.
@@Spinreel_fishing333 Well he's definitely dead. I checked up on a lot of Mike Sheehan's.
Wow great man,god bless him I remember the postman in Ireland delivering the post on his bike and you would here him whistle to know he was coming,it was a good thing to find out the happenings of the neighbourhood there was no phone.😊😉
No no, it couldn’t have been the same man. He was born in 1909/1910, meaning he would have been 108/9 in 2018. This would make him the second or first oldest Irishman ever, which isn’t the case. Michael is a common name and I’m sure Sheehan is also, so it will be harder to find him. The Michael Sheehan that died in 2018 could have been his son, if he had any, and if he was from the same area. The Michael Sheehan we see here has passed on, but not in 2018.
@@PrevailingFreedom He died in 1988.
HailMike.
I mean rip Mike.
Sorry its the viking dna.
Perhaps he had some. That's some fierce travelling
That ol Boy has legs of steel & will probably live past 100 years, my Grandmother from Cork born in 1890 died in 1993, 103 years old left Ireland in the 50's came to the U.S made her way to the west coast Portland, OR USA Lived to see 3 generations after her
He died in 2018
@@ReasonAboveEverything No, he didn’t. That would make him one of the top 3 oldest Irishman to ever live, and there is no mention of that anywhere. Michael Shaheen is a common name, plus it could have been his son.
In primary school, after classes I used to ride along with local postman and help him deliver some letters. He always bought me coke or ice cream. I thought it was the best job ever, riding bicycle all day long.
My dad was the last to cycle the post on the golden route in tipperary
Johnny Gleeson still on his bike in Nenagh.............Hon Johnny.
Get all the stories from him
I heard it was a long way.....
Class. My father used to drive around rural parts of Kerry and west Cork in a blue transit in the 80s and early 90s selling workwear (wellingtons, work boots etc) to all the farmers. I used to love going out with him when I was young. Deadly memories. Country has changed so much since then ☮️
I don't get it, you still get post man delivering the post on bikes today. Some walk, some go in van you see all sorts
Reporter: are you thinking of retiring?
Mike the Postman: shoo to tae tae hu ta tu ti to to tae.
Reporter: I see.
🤣🤣🤣🤣 Accurate
😂😂👍
🤣
lol
Love it ☘️
We'd a postman, Christy, all through the 80s. He'd been cycling many miles for over 30 years at that point. Rain, hail or shine he always delivered the post on his bike. An Post gave him a green van in the early 90s. Made life easier for the poor man. Once a month he'd give all the kids in our area a small bag of Jelly Tots or a roll of Silvermints. RIP Chrisy.
Pure gold. All the hardships taken with a smile...
And this fella paid more tax in one day than Amazon do in a year.
Yes but he didnt create wealth and jobs
Amazon put a lot of smaller tax paying companies out off business, the extra staff now working at amazon don't exactly earn much. Most of the profits go to America (majority of the shareholders)
@@radcow MUH JAB CREATORZZZ
Aka create zero hours contracts and rob the country whilst destroying local commerce and jobs. Go away with that shite now.
Comment of the year, Brilliant
My father used to drive around rural parts of Kerry and west Cork in the 80s and early 90s selling workwear (wellingtons, boots etc) to mainly farmers. I used to love heading out with him for the day when I was a kid. Brilliant memory's. People were so genuine and honest back then, it was class. My child is growing up in a different Ireland than I did. Man, the country has changed so much since then ☮️☮️☮️
How is it different now compared to then?
@@karkkimarkkinat2109 the obvious change would be that they use cars 🚗 in the country... the video should be called "the last of the rural country cycling postmen" people were much more trusting back then. Eg ppl never locked their doors. I can remember running in to the houses my father used to sell workwear to, doors were never locked and we'd always end up staying for a cup of tea and a chat. It's not like that anymore. We're you living in rural kerry in the 80s and 90s?
@@lennoxforeman601 I was living in a small town in northern Finland in the 90's. It was more like that back then too. I remember how everyone in the neighborhood knew each other and we're friendly (most of the time 😂) but nowadays it's like everyone is paranoid of each other and mentally ill. People have lost all social skills and are neurotic. I hate it.
@@karkkimarkkinat2109 truth bro. Times are constantly changing and we have to adapt. I was let lose as a kid out in the country and had an amazing childhood. Everyone was welcoming and everyone always saluted each other. I
If I let my children loose like I was left, my children would be taken off me. Different times bro. ✌✌✌
I was a postman in a small country town in south west australia in 1963
I did the whole town on my cycle
In all weathers and dogs
All post boxes on fences
You lucky bastard
@@archdukehamburgervononionr1948
Yes I was quite lucky
Quite a few were after it
I attained the highest Mark's in
The aptitude test
It was only a year then I was transferred elsewhere
All weathers in Australia !! Sun, sunshine, and more sunny days ...
@@Unborn-Stillborn i'll take delivering in -30 over delivering in +45
@@agnidas5816 I take it you never tried to cycle in -30 over ice and snow.
A lovely film! ... I love Ireland by my heart, I have been there eight times and lived and worked there for some time at the end of the 80's and in the early 90's, Cork City, West Cork, Schull, Kinsale, Crosshaven… I know it well, I like to remember it quite often ❤️🍀 from South Germany
Such a nice man! Respect! 👍That's the reason why he's been sick just once in his life and he probably became a hundred years old... I would have loved to have met him.. 😊
I say he saw plenty of things along the way and wasnt short of a story you forget its men like him that were the bedrock of rural Ireland back in the day.
Everyday 6 days a week for the last 42 years at that time 1975, the time I was born. Wow, thank you sir for your dedicated service. Salute!
This is an gem of a video, and clearly a gem of a human. What a lovely & tough soul!
Respect and honor to this man.
Wonderful old Ireland. It’s gone forever.
but some of us were lucky to catch the last flickers of it in our grandparent's homes in the 1980s
Awwww....I loved that! 💜 Thank you!
I have been disabled with chronic illness for 28 years now, but before that I "lived" on my bike!
Grew up in Norfolk, England and we were poor. Mum and dad travelled everywhere by bike, and I was on a wee seat on dad's crossbar.
The highlight of my young life, was getting my first bike, aged 4 ....a little tricycle. I was never off it! Lol
When my grandad died, I progressed to his bike, which was exactly the same as the one that this lovely gentleman was riding!
In my early teens, I got a part time job, and I saved and saved, until finally, I bought a beautiful Claud Butler drop handlebar bike. That bike was my life! I travelled/worked all over the UK (never got to tour Ireland, sadly), and cycled all over the UK, eventually getting a hand built tourer, which I named "Nomad" 😅. Carried on cycling, even though I was getting more and more ill, until I just couldn't do it any more.
Needless to say, my beloved bike remains in my loft! I just couldn't part with it!
Sorry for rambling....this story kind of touched my heart ❤
The postman reminded me of my grandad, and his old bike (the one I inherited)
It was a simpler time....a wonderful time.
@@finbarrcoffey8059 Awwww....thanks Finbarr!! 😊
....Happy (and healthy!) New year to you
As a latin american, even though I manage English very well, when I see "Ireland" and it is about an old person, I think "Oh boy this is gonna be tough" because the accent is so dense hahaha it is really hard to understand. Interesting video!
Don't worry, I'm Irish and I can barely understand him 😂
Me either and I'm Irish!
Ohh well thats somewhat nice to hear hahaha thanks!!
@@alberto9827 In Ireland we have only been speaking English language since the 1890s, fluently, we still use Gaelic words in our conversations , and some areas speak Gaelic fluently as their first Language, I'm in Cartagena Colombia ,my wife is Colombian, and The Spanish here is much different than in Spain, Unfortunately not many people speak native languages here, sad to see,, this is the effects of Empires, Saludos para ti, Beannachtaí oraibh a chara .there i
@@johnkelly1787 Ohhhh that is why some of the stuff he speaks about is almost impossible to understand for me! And yeah, spanish is one of those languages that can change drastically by location, that is why non spanish speakers find a hard time to learn it hahaha Gracias y saludos desde Costa Rica!
Reporter: Are you ready for retirement, Mike?
Mike the Postman: (Tilts head back and laughs, starts pedaling like a madman as his bike levitates into the cloudy blue sky.)
Lighten up the anime
I'd rather do that job - even in the pouring rain on a freezing morning - than rotting away at my desk.
I cycle across London every day to do my job as a teacher. 5.20 I get up, 14 miles I cycle each way. I hope not to do it for much longer.
@Bres of the Tuatha De Danann when humans were humans
Okaay go get a job similar then? like whats stopping you.
@@savvyenglando4276 I love where I work
@@sturdeehouse I was talking to the original poster mate, not you. Glad you're happpy with your work though. :-)
Bravo, man !! You are a real hero! Always on the road, talking with all the people around, standing all weather! What a great man! I love the postman! ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
I used to cycle 16 miles a day in my late forties for work and that used to really tire me out. I'm impressed at this chap doing 27 miles a day at 65!
not only that he's doing it on a heavy lump of a led of bike an aul highnelly. Strong legs that fella has over all the years of cycle.
My great grandfather did this in the 30s/40s Newport, Tipperary ☘️ loved hearing the stories from my nanny about being collected from school with his bike.
I remember our local postman Gerry in the 60's and 70's in North Cork, hail rain or shine he was out, he had a farm as well and used to buy calves from my father. He got a Honda 50 in about 1972. His son rang me after my father died to send his condolences, What hardy men they were, the backbone of the community, the internet of the time with all the latest news!
My ancestors came from County Cork in the 1890’s, the O’Connors.
Men like Mike you don't get them anymore. A credit for ability and willingness to go the extra mile. A great example of how to get on with the job. Excellent.👍
You won't see that man complaining of chest pain or diabetes, fit as a prize greyhound and as tough as nails ,is it any wonder the men of west cork had the tans running in circles with old boys like that around
👏🤣💯
Now now😄
He just lost both his legs in a kite flying accident last year but sure enough he's still riding his bicycle around, no quit in that man
Hell nooo! that’s why our ancestors and forefathers are so strong they’re weren’t weakened by technology they actually lived better healthier lives and didn’t no better so goes to show the heart and mind we’re ironclad as well as the body
@@sylezmakefightz9727 they certainly were ,the other factors were no chemicals or poison pesticides in foods although their diet was small and not so varied everything was home grown natural including the meat ,my grandfather at over 70 could have out worked most 50 year old today, he was a tough old Irish man born in 1905 I know I cut timber with him and brought up in the same home, those great people are gone now and their toughness with them
My father was a post man in the 50s...I can remember him getting up at 5 30 am ,to cycle 10 miles to get to his rounds,in all kinds of weather...l don't think anyone would do or be up to it now these days...N I.
I bet your bin men still work like true Celts all year round. I do in Scotland. walk/run 5-11 miles a day up at 4:30 am sharp and I'm not lugging letters i'm lugging bins weighing 15kg-450kg.
I'm fitter now in my 40's than I've ever been.
I'd do it if it meant I was paid enough to own a home and raise a family.
You are wrong. My husband has done this for 15 years in South West Victoria. Rain hail shine he rides his bicycle to work 8km each way and rides his postie round on top of that maybe 70km. He's 50. He has supported our family of 3 kids through school and uni. He has my greatest respect.
I’m knackered after cycling 7 km to city centre fair play to that legend
@@Jafmanz there's no way a bin weighs 450kg
My grandfather was a cycling postman, this was lovely to see
I like when he just stares at him when the reporter
asks what's the worst about bad weather
And when he gives him the bird 1:08 :D
Thank God we still have Michael Gallagher the Donegal postman who looks to the animals n fauna to (accurately) predict the weather
Very touching video... My grandfather was a cycling postmen in Normandy, France. One time he was fined for "bike overload". He was carrying too many parcels.
😅😅 what a wonderful story!
My mother was brought up on a hill farm in Aberdeenshire in the 1920s - she remembered one time when the postie on his bike handed her the post and informed her that her uncle was going to be visiting from the Philippines. The advantage was that the family didn't need to let any of the neighbours know. Even where we now live we have only fairly recently swapped from bike to van delivery
He is like my grandfather.
Proud to postman Ireland from Indonesia postman
I started working for the PMG/Australia Post in 1974. I can assure you that we were still using pushbikes well into the 1980s as well as delivering on motor bikes and on foot.
My grandad cycled six and a half miles to the sorting office , six and a half back , then did his round .on busy days maybe twice , Christmas and mother's Day three times . No one spoke of it as unusual , it was your job . Great video , many memories 👍🇬🇧
As a Corkman myself I would love to go back in time and travel around my own native county 50 years ago and more before there ever was a Celtic Tiger anywhere in sight. Gorgeous quite country Ireland was then, north and south.
I'm an American and unfortunately have never been to Ireland. What's a Celtic Tiger?
@@rinck17 the celtic tiger was the term used to describe the massive spurt and rapid expansion in the Republic of Ireland's economy in the 1990's through until the late 2000's. A Scandinavian economist first came up with it I believe.
Has Ireland changed that much?
@@ScouserLegend Ah it has. It has changed a fine good bit since those days I think anyhow. Not just socially but even physically with all the new roads crisscrossing the once fairly untouched landscape. I was born in the 1970s and grew up in the 1980s myself and I think we are a wholly different country now even from when I was a young fella going on a teenager.
Ahh, the good old days, when unmarried women were used as slaves, the Catholic church was the absolute ruler, babies were sold to the highest bidder( if they suvived at all..)Those days of a good struggle in the north....
I`m a cycling postman too. Rain, snow or shine, anyhow the weather conditions are, I love my job!
Really!
Brilliant ....in Ireland?
Biking through the countryside of Ireland for your whole life sounds like heaven.
The wonders of RUclips - watching videos about cycling postmen from 45 years ago and from the other side of the planet
Such a beautiful and humble person!
After 42 years, this gentleman’s a*s must’ve been tougher than Kevlar. Seriously, men like this are few and far between now. He obviously was a very dedicated and hardworking man who took a tremendous amount of pride in his work.
The Irish of that generation were machines of people❤️🇮🇪💕
Warriors! ⚔
Correct. Machines of people, gentlest of souls 👍
mostly leftie morons now , who worry about things in other countries
We had a cycling postman in ballygarvan co cork up until the 90s. frankie barry was his name.he covered a rural hilly route as well.
Ah go away! I used to commute to work by bike from the city to Ballygarvan via the Myrtle Hill road. I'm assuming that's the hilly part you're referring to?
@@deirdreclifford6519 yes although there is an even steeper hill the other side of the village meadstown hill
Great segments, thanks, and keep them coming.
In 1992 I was lucky enough to spend a month in Ireland. I was 12, and my grandfather had living relatives there so we had a house to stay in, etc. Since I was young, I probably didn't appreciate it like I should but will always be in my memories.
Fabulous clip like all of your stuff long past now I'd say,
Mike Sheehan what a person. Huge respect to him.
Imagine what he could do with a modern lightweight bike. He's doing every day the same level of training winners of the big tours do with an entire support team. And they don't even take out their cows first! Incredible.
My Grandfather was a rural postman in Green Bay WI. The USPS gave him a car allowance which basically paid for a new car every couple of years which he needed given all the wear a postal route has. This was in the 1950s.
If anyone is interested, he lived to either 107 or 108! What a man
No, he didn’t. That would make him one of the oldest Irishman to ever live. Seeing the death notice says he will be missed by his wife, this means the man’s wife was also alive in 2018, which is just impossible. Not to mention the picture is of a man in his 60’s-70’s, not a man in his 100’s. This may have been his son, but this was not the postal man himself.
I'm glad I live a life that will enable me to be as fit as this man at his age. Work for a living outside like man and you'll be one.
I have worked out that he started that job in 1933!!!!!!
Always loved the rigid bar brake linkages on those bikes.
Great man!
The respect I have for this man is off the charts. That's inspiring.
Wow bet he was superb condition. Wonder how long he lived.
He lived all the way to 2018, amazingly. 107 years old. Guess all the cycling paid off.
We had a cycling Postman until 1993 in our village in south Wexford.
When Bicycles were first introduced to An Post, Postmen were not permitted to ride them, but rather the Bicycles were for the carriage of Mailbags, with the Postman walking alongside.
Yes, I think you're right there.
❤what a strong man god. Bless his memory.
I think our bicycle postman in Geevagh, in south east county Sligo, was going into the 1980s.
i love this man
I do a bike route around a west of Ireland town with 600 houses, but it's over 10 miles, not the 27 he does per day.
He was one tough dude.
It's great to know that posties can still deliver by bike!
Lad I went to school with 40 years ago in Thurles, Tipperary, has been a postman on a bicycle he followed his father who was also a postman, but he isn't the only postman in the area who uses a bicycle... Lots of postal delivery personnel ( can't say postman anymore) still deliver post on a bicycle.
This is why I have so much respect for the older generations, men need to grow a back bone like this
This is when you could actually make a living wage.
@@reginaldbowls7180 and do so without an education
It’s 2021, and our postie still cycles around.
This gem looks like he’s warming up for the Tour de France..
Nice....
27 miles a day.
God bless Mike Sheehan.
Cows milked an’ all ...
Bless..
What a legend of a man he is, what dedication to a job well done, from the good old days, I wonder at what age this good man retired?
I'm betting he didn't retire. A man like him would continue his rounds until he felt he was dying. And even then, he would finish his route before he gave in.
This really warmed my heart
He is 112 now & still delivering the post on his bike - what a great man
Hahaha good one
@@fweenoe9501 He is. Google him
What’s his name?
@@ShotsMerkzAll sure that's Mike - thought everyone knows Mike Sheehan.
Hard working Gentleman , put many to shame today ....God Bless Sir
May god bless these good people.
Older generations were so much tougher then us now.