Tribute to VW owner Mike, 71, is vantastic...
Ryanair ‘safe flights’ plea
MORE than 60 VW Campervan fans got together to say a final farewell through video to a much-loved friend whose funeral they couldn’t attend because of Covid-19 restrictions.
The tribute was made to Mike O’neill, a fellow Volkswagen lover who was the owner of The Railway Tavern in Camp, Co Kerry. It was the home of Campfest, an annual gathering of VW Campervans for the past 16 years.
The video sees pals standing in front of their vans and holding the word “Legend”, a reference to Mike who died suddenly in recent weeks aged 71.
Darren O’brien, from Navan, Co Meath, first met his fellow enthusiast in his car park 17 years ago.
He said: “The minute I went into the pub and saw all the memorabilia over the walls and a VW in Kerry colours, I knew I was about to make a friend for life. And so I started holding annual gatherings where upwards of 75 camper vans used to come from all over Ireland and parts of the UK.
“We were all heartbroken to hear of Mike’s death and even more devastated knowing we couldn’t go to his funeral. So we made this video for him and his family to know how special he was to us and what a great character he was.
“We will still hopefully be able to have a massive send off for him in October but for now, the video is a message to a legend.” Meanwhile, hundreds of people turned up at Shannon Airport yesterday to bid farewell to the world’s largest aircraft.
The Antonov 225 was returning to its base in Ukraine after delivering almost 900,000 medical gowns.
RYANAIR yesterday called on Health Minister Simon Harris and the NPHET to allow the return of what the carrier described as “safe air travel”.
The company added it wants the country to follow EU scientific measures.
Ryanair said it believes Mr Harris and NPHET handled the lockdown well but they are “mismanaging” the economy.
It added: “Thousands of
Irish families are booking holidays in Portugal, Spain and Italy during July and August. However, Ireland’s hotels, tour operators, visitor attractions and restaurants are being unnecessarily damaged by this useless and ineffective visitor quarantine.”