Suits and boots to honour ‘Chicken George'

A MAN dressed up in a tribute ‘chicken’ suit was among those attending celebrations in Clonakilty to honour one of the town’s most popular characters, Gerry Shevlin, also known as ‘Chicken George’. 

Locals came out to honour the man who has entertained the townspeople during various festivals down the years.

Cork South West TD Michael Collins attended the event and said he was delighted to be at the birthday celebrations of one of Clonakilty’s greatest characters.

‘George is, as I’ve said, one of the greatest characters we have in West Cork and my previous meetings with him have ended in many laughs,’ said Deputy Collins. The members of Clonakilty Tidy Towns even presented a guard of honour which ‘Chicken George’ inspected twice, and Kevin O’Regan, owner of Fuschia Footwear, presented him with a brand new pair of black patent shoes. George then paraded through the town in an open top Rolls Royce accompanied by the man in the chicken suit.

‘It was a way of recognising his contribution to the town and giving him back something. The event kicked off at around 2pm and it built up to the guard of honour around 4.30pm. The Clonakilty Brass Band entertained the crowds, as well as numerous other singers and musicians,’ said Sean Ahern, one of the organisers of the event.