Watch: Bikers ‘Rock-up’ for Tyrone man’s 90th birthday

There are special, unique and memorable birthday surprises and then there’s ‘Operation Peter’ which brought an entire community together along with bikers from all across Ireland.

On Saturday, the quiet village of Rock was shaken with the roar of motorcycles, as bikers made their way to a surprise birthday bash for Petie McLernon’s 90th.

Such is the esteem in which Petie is held, the community unveiled a new bench in his honour, along with a ‘This is Your Life’ style presentation, recounting some of the many memorable moments with Petie who is synonymous with hardware shop and pub, which he helped run up until they closed recently.

And the impressive cavalcade of bikes put the cherry on top of his big birthday cake, as Petie met up with some of the bikers who he had warmly welcomed to the village over the last year.
Speaking to the Dungannon Herald, Petie said he was still trying to come to terms with the wealth of surprises.

“I am still in shock to be honest with you,” he said.

“I had maybe heard a rumour that there was something going on for my birthday, but when I asked around, nobody seemed to know anything about it.
“And then to see that many people and all those bikers, they had travelled from all corners of Ireland, well that was just unbelievable.”

A keen fan of GAA sports, birthday wishes were read out from footballing legends Pat Spillane and Peter Canavan and RTE commentator Marty Morrissey as well as GAA President Larry McCarthy. Irish President Michael D Higgins also sent his birthday wishes.

Petie says he was most surprised by the visit of three people in particular to the birthday bash.

“The first one was Mary O’Malley from Mayo, whose family I stayed with on the night before Reek Sunday (annual pilgrimage to summit of Croagh Patrick) every year for about 18 years and that all came about from a chat with a complete stranger.

“I was also shocked to see Mary Jo Curran the Kerry footballer who won 10 All Ireland titles. That was some honour to see her there.

“And the third lady was Marian Rackard who gave a great talk here in the hall in the Rock about addiction a few years ago. She’s the daughter of the great hurler Nicky Rackard.

“I still cannot believe that those three ladies came up to the Rock for my birthday. The whole day was full of big surprises and I think I’ll still be in shock for a while yet.”

In an online fundraising appeal for his birthday entitled ‘Operation Peter’, the group of bikers who had encountered the popular Rock resident during the Irish Photo Rally event, said they wanted to repay his kindness.
“He took the time, whenever he could, to come out and chat and give us a glimpse of the true gentleman that the locals affectionately call Petie,” said a spokesperson for the bikers.

“He seems to be very fond of the biking community and he invited many of us who had the time, into his house and ‘fed and watered’ us, while looking for nothing in return only our time and ears.”

On Saturday, Enda Carthy – on behalf of the bikers – presented Petie with a signed Galway jersey and gift. Enda who spearheaded the surprise celebrations, said he and many others were overcome with emotion as Petie received his birthday wishes on Saturday.

“To see Petie standing on that stage when the presentations were being made and shaking his head in disbelief, it was just the most wonderful thing I have seen,” said Enda who is from Galway.

“I am a grown man and I do not mind admitting that I had a tear in my eye and I know many others were the same. It was such a fitting tribute to a wonderful man.”

Enda said he had heard of the welcome which Petie had given to his fellow bikers as they visited the wheel pump in Rock which was one of 24 locations in Ireland to be visited as part of the annual Irish Photo Rally last year.

“When myself and my wife arrived, sure enough, the door opened and there was Petie coming over to us. I had almost run out of petrol and my wife needed the bathroom and he welcomed us into his home, made us tea and three and half hours later were left his home.

“The warm welcome he gave us made such an impression that we came back two months later and when we heard it was his 90th birthday this year, we knew we just had to do something special for him.
“And the whole community really got involved and the event snowballed into something really special. When you heard the tributes paid to him, you understand just how special Petie is and what he means to people, some like myself, who only met him a few times. Mary Jo Curran got in her car and travelled all the way from Kerry to be there, that’s just amazing.”

Enda added, “It was one of the most wonderful and enjoyable days of my life and whoever would have thought that a 90-year-old man would capture the hearts of a group of bikers, but that’s exactly what he did. He’s a true gentleman.”

Peter McNamee from the Rock was one of the local people who helped organise the birthday bash.

“Petie was a bit shell-shocked by the whole thing,” said Peter. “He was delighted to see all the bikers in the village and also the special guests who came along. He was definitely taken by surprise.
“It was a great day, the whole community all came out for Petie. All the local farmers came along and it was cross-community. So many people know Petie through his time running the hardware store and it was a fitting tribute to him and the entire day went very well.”

During the celebrations a number of close friends recounted fond memories shared with Petie, and he was also presented with a lifetime Pioneer Pin.