Paddy's pedal power inspires
PADDY Keating has a lust for life that’s pretty infectious. He’s a sprightly 78 years and is rightly proud that in the past six years alone he’s clocked up an impressive 11,000-plus miles on his bike.
It’s not a fancy bike, nothing ostentatious or designed for speed -- perhaps a bit like Paddy himself. He reignited his interest in cycling seven years ago, although he has always cycled throughout his life. Much of those 78 years were spent farming at his home in Rusheens, just off the Galway Road near Tuam, and while he’s an advocate of healthy living and an active lifestyle, he’s had his own wobbles on the health front.
In 2000 he underwent treatment for prostate cancer. The outcome of the 37 sessions of radium in St Luke’s Hospital in Dublin was positive but he and his medical advisors felt it was time to give up working the farm, although he continued to work as caretaker for two schools.
Paddy is healthy in body and mind. His memory and the ability to instantly retrieve facts and information from 50 years ago is impressive.
It’s not a fancy bike, nothing ostentatious or designed for speed -- perhaps a bit like Paddy himself. He reignited his interest in cycling seven years ago, although he has always cycled throughout his life. Much of those 78 years were spent farming at his home in Rusheens, just off the Galway Road near Tuam, and while he’s an advocate of healthy living and an active lifestyle, he’s had his own wobbles on the health front.
In 2000 he underwent treatment for prostate cancer. The outcome of the 37 sessions of radium in St Luke’s Hospital in Dublin was positive but he and his medical advisors felt it was time to give up working the farm, although he continued to work as caretaker for two schools.
Paddy is healthy in body and mind. His memory and the ability to instantly retrieve facts and information from 50 years ago is impressive.