Much-loved Limerick Bus Éireann employee Pat Kennedy retires after 46 years

Much-loved Limerick Bus Éireann employee Pat Kennedy retires after 46 years

Limerick’s Pat Kennedy ends his 46-year Bus Éireann journey with a retirement ceremony at Limerick Bus Station

Pat Kennedy’s career with Bus Éireann from 1979 to 2025 had some key stops along the way, which helped a shy 17-year-old young man grow to the man who retired this week from a journey of kindness, transformation, and connection.

“They say if you love what you do, you will never work a day in your life. And my job was more like a hobby, I loved being in there,” Pat reflected, saying, “When I first started there in 1979, it was a two-man operation, you had the driver and the conductor, and there were very few one-man operated buses.”

Thinking back to his first day, he remembers being “quite shy” as a young man but says the job helped him “come out of my shell”, saying, “My first day I was on a two-man operated bus, it was the service to Raheen, and as a shy young man, it was tough asking people for money, you know. But the job helped me come out of my shell, and now I can talk to anyone about anything.”

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Through the years, Pat has seen some interesting things in Limerick and with the city’s bus service. A memory which stands out for him, which would have impacted many other people in the city, was “when the Granny came to town”.

As part of the Limerick City of Culture in 2014, following months of preparations and planning, an 85-year-old giant grandmother by French mechanical marionette street theatre company Royal De Luxe finally arrived by rail at the Bus Éireann school bus depot, greeted by several thousand people who had gathered to see her arrival.

Pat remembers it being an incredible time for the city, but behind the scenes, Bus Éireann had a very busy task. “We had to reroute all of our city centre buses,” Pat explained, adding, “The Granny was there for three days, I think it was Friday the 5th of September to Sunday the 7th, so I had to help organise new bus routes for that weekend because we couldn’t go through the city centre.

That weekend was very memorable, making sure the buses had different cards, making sure of all the new routes. Things people wouldn’t even think of.”

Another memory which springs to mind for Pat, and gave I Love Limerick an insight as to why Pat’s colleagues at Bus Eireann love him so much and spoke so highly of him, was a display of his kindness.

When asked about some standout memories, Pat thought back to 2015, he said, “I remember at the time of the terror attacks in Paris in 2015, there were two French men trying to make their way back to Paris, but their flight was cancelled.

“The two men were left stranded, looking for somewhere to stay in Limerick, and they asked me if they could stay at the station overnight, but I told them they could stay at my home.”

When asked if it was something he had to think about before offering, he said, “Not at all, they seemed like two genuine people. One was a firefighter and the other was a police officer; they were visiting Ireland and tried to get home early because they felt they would be needed in France, but their travel was cancelled.

“They were very grateful for the help, and a hamper basket arrived a couple of weeks later.”

A lot has changed with the bus service between 1979 and 2025, with Pat speaking about how originally the bus service, the rail service, and Dublin Bus were all one entity when he first joined, with the three operating separately now as Bus Éireann, Irish Rail, and Dublin Bus.

One thing that hasn’t changed, though, in Pat’s eyes is the great staff and colleagues he worked with, he told I Love Limerick, “Everything is computerised now, I was lucky that some of the younger lads gave me help with that. The people you work with make a big difference.”

“What I will miss most, apart from my colleagues, are the customers. You get to meet some great people, especially coming into the summer months when thousands of tourists come to Limerick, it’s great to see and it’s great to speak with them,” says Pat, a very different man to the shy 17-year-old who started his career in 1979.

Looking to his retirement, Pat says he “will be busy”, with plans to relax on an upcoming cruise with the hopes of doing a bit more travelling too. Pat noted, “I have a grandchild who will need minding two days a week too.”

Pat was honoured with a retirement ceremony at the Limerick Bus Station, where he was presented with a plaque of the Treaty Stone, a vase, a certificate of recognition, and enjoyed some cake and coffee with his colleagues. We wish Pat all the best in his retirement!