May 1974 was a tough and tumultuous month in Ireland and in the middle of a time of great uncertainty.
We know from the recent 50th commemoration of the Dublin and Monaghan bombings, which killed over 30 people and an unborn child, how shaky the state of the nation was.
In the relative calm and peace surrounding his family home in Muingenaire a young man took a giant step for him and headed down to Castleisland town and to his first job.
Jimmy Cremins joined the yard staff of Castleisland Co-Op Mart in May of 1974 where his first boss was the late Seán Brosnan.
Jimmy has since worked under management teams which included those led by Martin Nolan, Richard Harnett and more recently Nelius McAuliffe.
A Very Good Team
“I couldn’t say a bad word about any of them. We all got on with what ever we had to do and with whatever came at us we coped with it,”said Jimmy.
“We always had a very good team around the yard and in the office and we all got on well together and that was very important.
“I worked with John Joe Casey and Jerry Cremins, Danny McSweeney and later on with Jim O’Connor, Joan Walsh and Gerard Carmody and the team in the office.
“We were never idle and we got through mountains of work there over the years. There was always someone who wanted our help loading or unloading cattle and we met all kinds of people and so many characters over the years,” said Jimmy.
Tables Turned on Jimmy
While Jimmy was always on top of his duties around the grounds of the busy mart, the tables were turned on him last Wednesday at around lunchtime.
It was business as usual as the constant rat-a-tat-tat of the auctioneer frequently if momentarily punctuated by the crack of the gavel on his pulpit.
However, a special occasion had to be heeded and an out of character pause had to be called when and huge cake arrived in the ring in the safe custody of Scartaglen man John Kerins.
It was Jimmy Cremins’ 50th anniversary cake and because his friendship with all his colleagues meant so much to them that they ‘stalled the digger’ and the auctioneer and all and manager Nelius McAuliffe called the whole arena to attention and Jimmy to the middle of the ring.
A Man You Could Depend On
Nelius, the latest in the long life of managers since the mart was opened in September 1960, spoke of Jimmy’s punctuality, his dedication to jobs great and small and to his personality which was, he said always on the bright side.
“Jimmy has always been a man you could depend on, he’s never in bad form no matter what pressure he’s under and he’s always a pleasure to work with,” said Nelius.
While Jimmy was taken aback with the sudden switch of attention in the ring from the cattle to himself, things don’t slide by people who apply themselves to their patch of responsibility like he has done over the last 50 year.
There was Something Up
“I smelt a rat alright earlier in the day. No one said anything but I knew there was something up,” said Jimmy.
Jimmy was presented with a watch, cards and envelopes and the cake – a collection which displayed a keen awareness by his colleagues of his likes and ways.
The cake ? for obvious celebratory reasons; the cards ? Well that’s personal; the watch? “Jimmy likes watches and he always wears one so we thought we’d get him a really good one,” mart chairman Timmy Horan explained.
The auctioneer then resumed his chair, his rapid fire cant and the business of the day.
The cake was escorted back to the safety of the office until the work of the busy day was done and, in the calm of the late afternoon, all there could say a sincere ‘Well done Jimmy.’
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