Retiring after 40 years as a taxi driver in Athlone

A gathering was held in the Shamrock Lodge Hotel last Friday evening to mark the retirement of Tommy Grenham, a popular taxi driver in Athlone for the last four decades.

The Crannagh, Summerhill, resident is retiring as the owner of Athlone Cab Company and Thomas Grenham Taxi Service, both of which are set to continue under new management.

He greatly enjoyed the retirement function on Friday. "It went very well. We had a beautiful meal, everyone enjoyed it, and we kept our (social) distance. I think everybody went home happy," he said.

Tommy first got his taxi licence on June 7, 1980. He had been a driver for Athlone Creamery at the time, and was on the lookout for some extra work.

"It was an early morning job and I used to be finished at 12.30 or 1 o'clock, with nothing to do for the rest of the day. So I got the idea of getting the taxi licence for a bit of part-time work, which very quickly became my full-time work!" he explained.

While Tommy has had many regular customers, the taxi business changed significantly over the years, particularly after taxi ranks were introduced locally.

"There were more regulars in the past than there are now. When the taxi ranks came in, people who were in town and wanted a taxi took whoever was there at the rank, rather than ringing one and waiting for it. It was different years ago, definitely."

Athlone Cab Company operated for many years above The Ark flower shop on Athlone's Church Street, but more recently it had no physical office presence and operated solely through mobile phone communication.

Tommy said around 90% of his business in recent times came through contracts with organisations such as the HSE, Bus Eireann, Irish Rail, and St Hilda's Services. He also operated a delivery service for a Dublin-based company, Nutricia, which supplies pumps for people who require tube feeding.

"If a pump broke down, we would cover all of the deliveries on the west coast," he explained. "We have pumps in stock, and if one broke down we would guarantee delivery within two and a half hours anywhere along the west coast, from Donegal to Limerick."

He enjoyed encountering new people through his work. "While you were repeating (journeys) all the time, it was always different people you were with. There was a bit of variety in it."

A native of Moore in South Roscommon, Tommy has a longstanding interest in sport. He was a soccer referee for 37 years, and Athlone Cab Company has been a sponsor of Moore United FC, of which he is a founding member.

He has a daughter, Helena Eaton, who lives in Ellesmere Port, England, near the border with Wales, and two granddaughters. Helena works at Wrexham Glyndŵr University in Wales, having previously worked for almost 20 years at John Moores University in Liverpool.

Tommy's other daughter, Eimear, had just qualified as a teacher at the age of 23 when she sadly died from cancer in 1999. His late wife, Maisie Murray, died in 2010 and Tommy subsequently married Ann Turpin.

He told the Westmeath Independent that his retirement as a taxi driver had been coming for some time.

"I originally thought I'd retire at 66, with the pension. When that came I said 'I'll give it another year', and then I had 70 in my mind, and that came and went, and so did 75, although I'm not much over the 75!" he laughed.

His insurance as a taxi driver was due for renewal next month and he had made up his mind that he wouldn't be renewing it this time.

"I put an ad in to sell the company and, much to my surprise, it was sold within 24 hours. So I am happy enough," he said.

Asked about the plans for his retirement, he said he was looking forward to fishing, playing pitch and putt, and simply enjoying the freedom of no longer having to be on call to make a collection or a delivery at short notice!