Hitch Hiking a thing of the past ?

Joyce… hmmm, let me think. 🤔

Jesus I don't even like getting the bus.

Couldn't imagine picking up a rando in my car.

Surely the address was more of a giveaway?

James, was it?

You see a lot of hitchhikers in Ennis - particularly on the Lahinch Road, just along the playing pitches across from the Bishop's house. But there's a few regulars that hitch on the Tulla Road too. Some on the Lahinch road are backpackers, some are locals who use hitching to get to and from Ennis for appointments and shopping - although hopefully the Local Link bus service is now of benefit to them.

I remember a guy years ago telling me about hitching a lift in his rural locality in his teens. A guy in a van who he vaguely knew stopped and picked him up. Just after he got in, he realised that the driver had his lad out, and was frantically "shifting gears" as they drove. The hitcher exclaimed his shock, and the driver just pointed to a mass of porn mags in the passenger footwell and replied "sure join in if you want".

Look up Brian Joyce Ennis on Google.

An absolute tramp

7 minute abs

I'd never drive past a hitch hiker if I have room, been there done that and loved the experience. 99% of people hitching a lift are genuine salt of the earth and appreciative of kindness.

What I don't like or tolerate is the single person thumbing with a little backpack who when you pull in is suddenly joined by a partner who was hidden from view and has more luggage than a RyanAir 747 will carry.

One time a lady on her own morphed into a dreadlocked couple who actually had a border collie as well and they thought I would be too embarrassed to refuse a lift to them after I had pulled in. I have a border collie myself and they are one dog that seem to develop instant alopecia when they enter a confined space.

"Where are you heading?" very quickly became "Where the f*ck do they think they're going? Close my door there now love and best of luck with the next person that pulls in". Your man was "Oh she's quite safe, she's very friendly".

So am I mate, bye, bye.

Some of them hippies would live in your ear if you let them.

I wouldn't sit in with a traveller nor would I give a lift to one, the smell would be too much

You should never take these things for granted.

Some of them might not mind the stink off you, or might put up with it out of politeness. The travellers can be very tolerant of your issues

Lol, good one 👍

Unless someone comes up with 6 minute abs.

If I could thank that twice I would. Off to youtube for me😅

A joke familiar to those of us who give people lifts:

Picked up a hitch-hiker. Seemed like a nice guy. After a few miles, he asked me if I wasn't afraid that he might be a serial killer. I told him the odds of two serial killers being in the same car were extremely unlikely.

TIL The Irish word for 'lift' is 'síob'.

if the person looks reasonably dressed or is a tourist with a bag, I will give them a lift.

I did enough thumbing in the past, pre owning a car, to know that sometimes you are just stuck for a lift somewhere

once thumbed from Drogheda to Galway, took four lifts to get there, and it was quicker than taking Bus Eireann by about 90 mins.

picked up two german backpackers in Dingle once, they had planned to hitch hike around the whole wild atlantic way but after 10 days had realised they underestimated how long it would take. they started in Cork!

Stop making things up, that award doesn’t exist.

The last time I hitched was about 20 years ago when I was in college. I had to work my part time job in a toyshop and worked Xmas evening until 8 and missed the last bus.

Started thumbing out the road from Sligo town and got my first lift within 5 mins. as far as Tubbercurry.

Another few mins and I got my next lift as far as Charlestown in Mayo. I was standing around in the freezing cold for what felt like hours but was probably 20 minutes and a blue HiAce van stops, (uh oh, but I'm desperate)

"Wur ya off to Sir?"

"Limerick" says I

"Hop in"

The driver was a big travelling man and his wife was sitting next to him. I squeezed in next to yer wan with my bag.

"Jaysus that's a lovely watch you have on, how much do you want for it?"

"Thanks but it's not for sale, it was a birthday present from my Mam"

"I didn't axe you that, I axed you how much you want fur the watch"

"Ara JohnJoe would ya leave the purr young fella alone, t'is Christmas Eve!" The wife pipes in.

I got out of the van in Knock and I got home safe very early the next morning.

They'd claim off your insurance too

I am guilty of that.When I would hitch with my girlfriend we knew that I was just holding us both back and so I would be barely out of sight and the gf would ask if he could take the two of us if any car stopped.

Can't remember being refused but some drivers would slowdown and speed up when they saw the two of us.

I have a zoo of stories of hitch hiking as I did it a lot in the past.

Have been threatened with a gun in Texas and propositioned by a priest in Ireland (as you'd expect)

Not hitch hiking as such but we once got a lift from another couple in a small car with a push/pull gearstick going our way ..They were visiting a grave on All Saints Day and ,at the top of an incline the brakes failed and we rolled slowly and helplessly through the junction.

Picking up speed the couple in the front started to argue about how to stop the car and ,to the panicked final suggestion to remove the ignition key it was in fact taken out and brandished as vindication.

So the car picked up more and more speed but the wheels were now locked.

But we did reach our destination as the graveyard they were to visit was just down the road and we entered it through a hedge but with the car on its side.