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CITYLINK – WE KNOW YOU’RE DEAD BEFORE YOUR IMMEDIATE FAMILY

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50 comments

  4. These kind of drivers genuinely do absolute wonders for elderly people. The little chats he might have with them on the bus really brighten their day. Fair play to him.

  7. This is pretty strange from Citylink. At the same time, I have a soft spot for them as a company – compare one of their journeys with a similar one with Bus Eireann and you will too – and the drivers are all pretty sound.

  11. Ireland, a country where everyone kind of looks like Martin, and has a special sense for deaths of casual acquaintances.

  30. Wait, I’m confused, are we saying Citylink killed the old passenger and staged it to look like a natural death and poor Martin is an unwitting pawn in this elaborate and deadly plot to raise some clout through social media???

  31. really sad story of someone who ordered dominos everyday, so that when they passed, they’d be missed by the delivery drivers and the alarm would be raised.. that’s dying alone

    ​

    heard someone talk about a young person that had passed away.. their online persona was still there for people to view. Mad how they’ve remained in there in a digital way

  32. I kinda think this story woulda been nicer if Martin had noticed sooner and they saved the auld one from a lonely death

  34. As someone who hasn’t got any friends or close family I hope that there is at least a Martin in my life that I am unaware of, who would notice if I went missing one day!

  35. Martin is a funny guy. I miss the chats we used to have when I was heading out to visit the auld one. That being said most of the time, between chats and sometimes to the exclusion of chats, he’d just be staring dead ahead with his teeth clenched and sweating. I noticed that his eyes would be unfocused, distant, but he always seemed to be driving perfectly fine. Every odd journey though, his head would turn sharply one way or the other, and stay that way for several seconds. But again, driving completely unimpared. On one occasion I heard him hiss “there goes another”, and on another something almost indecipherable but that I’m sure ended with “embrace”. At the stops he’d be back to his warm self. Weird tattoo on his collarbone. Some lad Martin.

  36. i have family in the clifden area and travel there regularly, he’s often my driver and he’s always an absolute gentleman. glad to see him get recognized.

  39. He’s always been sound. I used to get that bus every weekend when I was in college, pretty sure I know which passenger this is referring to, sad news.

  40. I live alone and I’m terminally I’ll. my biggest fear is dying and my body not being discovered for days or even weeks. I know it doesn’t make a lot of sense as I won’t be aware of it but it bothers me. irrational but still real to me.

  41. Want to hear a bus driver story that will warm the cockles of your heart even if it has been stone cold for years?

    In the 70’s my Mum was a young teenager in Belfast. The IRA had detonated an absolute massive bomb and the entire city had been shut down. My mum was far from home, alone and terrified.

    A bus driver saw her and ignored all of the military orders that they stay off the streets, he saw a scared little girl and he wanted to help. He picked her up and drove through every police blockade and drove her straight to her door.

    What a truly wonderful man he is, he is the kind of person I aspire to be that even when the RUC and the British army demand compliance, if you see a scared child you do whatever you can to make sure they get home safe.

  44. Martin is absolutely sound out in fairness to him! Know him for years and seen him go the extra mile loads of times!

  45. Social media clout aside, people like Martin are worth their weight in gold. It wasn’t too long ago that there was a man’s remains found in his house and he was thought to have died over 20 years ago. That woman could have fallen and not been able to get to the phone to call for help. She could have laid there dead for years if he hadn’t made enquiries. With it being reported (only yesterday) that up to 20% of the population here feel lonely a lot of the time, the interactions these people have with random people (bus drivers, shop assistants etc) can be so important. During covid lockdowns I was taking calls for my section in work from home. We have a lot of older people ringing us not really understanding what’s going on. I was on the phone to most of them for 45 minutes at least just chatting about anything because I could tell I was the only other person these people got to talk to that day. I didn’t hang up until they were ready to. I have an aunt who lives half the country away from me and I’d be thankful if someone had noticed she hadn’t gone to collect her pension or hadn’t been seen in the local shop etc.

  48. This guy is amazing. Greeting me by name after only a couple of times on the route, always makes me happy when I see its him driving when the bus pulls up. Always has time for everyone and great to all the elderly. Article itself maybe a bit…..odd… but really glad to see this lad get the recognition he deserves

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