The Left’s alive in Athy – Lynch and Sanders only moments apart

BERNIE Sanders was not the only colossus of the political Left to visit Athy last weekend, as Mick Lynch – the recently retired leader of the UK’s rail union RMT – was also in town to visit his old pal of 30 years Frank Corr (78) from Kildangan.

In fact, the titans were but moments away from what would have been quite the photograph, when Frank brought Mick into O’Briens for a pint just moments after the Sanders left.

Mick Lynch (63) came to the national consciousness during the high profile rail strikes in 2022.

Here he proved himself as an lively orator and debater, able to hold his own with either contentious politician or journalist, thus becoming a symbol for the wider union movement.

Both the men had actually shared platform the night before in Liberty Hall as speakers at the Robert Tressell Festival.

This like a sort of summer school of the Left celebrating the ways of the Dublin author of ‘The Raggy Trousered Philanthropist’, a book which was a key influence on the formation of the UK’s Labour Party.

However, while Bernie’s Athy duties on Sunday were well flagged, Mick Lynch’s visit was an entire coincidence, based solely on his three decade friendship with Frank.

“We’ve been friends since I met him in the Eurostar Depot [in London] in ’93,” said Frank.

“We only did the maintenance, Waterloo was the HQ, now St Pancras,” said Frank.

“Me and Mick were on the pensions committee and the company council together,” he added.

“Mick Lynch has always called himself a workman…management would’ve always loved to employ him, but he’d’ve never moved over…he was very bright, very articulate and very quick.

“It’s a pity nobody told you [about the Lynch visit] but he left O’Brien’s shortly after to go to Cork to see relatives. That’s were his dad’s from, his mam is from Crossmaglen, or somewhere like that.

“When himself and the wife would be over, they’d stay a night or two. Last time was when he was over for the Late Late, 

“Saturday night was important to Mick, the Raggy Trousered Philanthropist meant a lot to Mick.

“They shared a platform, but Athy was just coincidence.

“I didn’t know he [Sanders] was going to be in Athy, but he may have mentioned it to Michael,” admitted Frank.

Francis Corr went to work as a labourer with Bord na Mona in Kilberry just after his Group Cert in the early 60s.

He left for London in 1971, but not before completing a qualification as a radio technician.

“I went to night school in London because I didn’t have the Inter [Cert] or the Leaving, and I got a HNC in Plant Engineering, and hat’s what got me into Eurostar,” said Frank.

“I worked in Vienna, Amsterdam and Paris on the railways. I nearly learnt French, but then I left and never went back,” said this dark horse with old friends - and a hundred untold tales.