A CLONAKILTY man had a ‘wheely’ important role to play in Dublin’s St Patrick’s Day parade.
Pat O’Sullivan had the task of driving grand marshal Patrick Kielty around the route in his 1934 Rolls Royce Open Tourer.
This was Pat’s seventh year in the ‘hot seat’ with grand marshals at the capital’s parade.
He drove cyclist Stephen Roche in 2014; actor Brendan O’Carroll in 2015; Olympian Annalise Murphy in 2017; actor Liam Cunningham in 2018; comedians Deirdre O’Kane and Jason Byrne in 2019 and soccer manager Vera Pauw last year.
Pat said Late Late Show presenter Kielty got one of the best receptions he’s ever seen from the crowd, along with Brendan O’Carroll.
Pat had the Rolls Royce at a car show in the RDS back in 2014, when a parade organiser approached him and asked if he’d be interested in being their driver.
‘My daughters Jane, Kate and Ashlie convinced me to do it!’ said vintage car enthusiast Pat.
His father Pat bought the Rolls Royce at an auction in Kilbrittain in 1981 and he credits Clonakilty mechanics Pat Murphy and Karl Wycherley with keeping it on the road.
‘It’s a 90-year-old car so anything can happen, but it’s never let me down,’ said Pat.
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