The mans a legend. I used to go for ride outs when I lived in Northern Ireland and would always call in and pay my respects to the man at the memorial garden they have for him just up the road from his bar.
See!
Met the guy once. He pulls a nice pint of Harp. Story goes something like this:
When I was a whippersnapper of the tender age of 18 I done a stint working on the trains. I was a trolly juggler for the summer and I would spend all day on the trains on and off at various stations including a 40 minute wait at Ballymoney. One lovely day I called into the Station Bar as it was called then (now called Joey's). Ordered a pint and had one of them moments where I looked at the guy behind the bar and thought "I know you but I'm buggered if I can place how!" After a couple of minutes I noticed the pictures around the bar and the penny dropped. "Your Joey Dunlop, Pleased to meet you."
I got a hand shake and a little chat but with me being a typical racing fan I got all star struck and hardly said more than I'm a fan. I didnt even get around to asking for an autograph. I just basked in the knowladge that I have just been served a pint of beer by a racing legend!
Top man and a big loss to Northern Ireland and the sport.
