Cavan man receives Freedom of London

After over half a century in the construction sector in London, Maudabawn native Frank O’Hare was presented with the Freedom of London recently. He received the award as recognition for his work for helping to establish the London Irish Construction Network (TCLIN), a group dedicated to helping Irish people working in the construction sector in London.

“It’s always nice to get recognised for what you’ve done. TCLIN has helped a lot of people, I helped to form the group in 2009 when times were tough. There was a group of us who would be flying back to Ireland on a Friday night so we’d meet at Stanstead Airport and have a chat. Then we’d meet again on the way back. After a while, we started meeting up midweek for a pint and chat.

“We shared ideas and information about where things were happening and what contractors had the latest big jobs. We decided to grow the network. We had our first event in the Irish club in Blackfriars and they gave us a good steer and good speakers. They’re still a massive help to us,” he outlined of the network’s humble beginnings.

When Frank first went out to London, he first worked in the bar trade, then construction work before setting up his own construction company in 1983. “I have been in business ever since with a property company and construction company,” he said.

During his time in London, Frank has worked on some iconic buildings.

“In London, buildings get refurbished and redone every 10 years, you could work on the same buildings a few times or even a few different areas of the same building. I worked on the logistics for the statue of Bobby Moore. I met his wife and a lot of his teammates from the 1966 World Cup-winning team. It was great to be able to chat with them in a relaxed environment. I also worked on the Shard in London.”

London has seen dramatically changes since Frank first arrived in 1972.

“It changes almost daily. It’s a transient place. There’s always different things happening. Last year, we had our first-ever Irish Lord Mayor of the City of London, called Vincent Keaveny from Dublin. He was the 683rd Mayor in total, and we have another Irish one this year Nicholas Lyons. When I first came to London, it would be unheard of for an Irish person to have this position,” revealed Frank.

Sheep over London bridge

One of the perks of earning the Freedom of London is the right to drive sheep over London Bridge, a ceremonial event that happens every year, something that Frank says he looks forward to participating in next year.

“Celebrity chef Richard Corrigan got to do it this year but, because I didn’t register on time, I’ll have to wait until next year. It’ll be a great moment and something I look forward to sharing with my family.”

Frank splits his time between London and Kerry but still visits Cavan regularly.

“I love the buzz of London but I still like coming back to Ireland. I live in London most of the time. We have a holiday home in Kerry, my wife Kathleen is a teacher so she spends the summer there and I go on Friday and fly back on a Monday. My two brothers live in Cavan, one in Maudabawn and the other in Knockbride, so I get back up there as often as I can.”