{"id":3358,"date":"2026-09-22T15:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-09-22T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/?p=3358"},"modified":"2026-09-21T13:59:13","modified_gmt":"2026-09-21T12:59:13","slug":"nineteen-years-driving-taxis-in-toronto-ended-when-a-killorglin-man-bought-the-hackney-plate-in-his-own-town","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/nineteen-years-driving-taxis-in-toronto-ended-when-a-killorglin-man-bought-the-hackney-plate-in-his-own-town\/","title":{"rendered":"Nineteen years driving taxis in Toronto ended when a Killorglin man bought the hackney plate in his own town"},"content":{"rendered":"

The first thing he noticed was the silence<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

After years of engines, sirens, and late-night chatter, Se\u00e1n O\u2019Donnell rolled down a Killorglin road and heard the river<\/strong> again.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cIt felt like a restart<\/strong>,\u201d he said, easing his new hackney car past the Laune, the mountains<\/strong> opening like a book he\u2019d loved and left.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

From high-rises to hedgerows<\/h2>\n

<\/p>\n

In Toronto, he learned to thread a needle<\/strong> through traffic, to read faces in rear-view mirrors<\/strong>, to never trust a gap that looks too easy<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Nineteen years of shift changes, airport runs, and winter slick<\/strong> ended the day he signed for a hackney plate<\/strong> in his hometown.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cI wanted to be the guy who knows every lane<\/strong>, not just every shortcut<\/strong>,\u201d he said, hands loose at ten and two<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Why he left a city that never sleeps<\/h2>\n

<\/p>\n

Toronto paid the rent<\/strong>, taught him patience, and turned him into a listener<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

But the math of long hours, rising costs, and the slow grind of city living<\/strong> began to dull even the good nights<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cI kept thinking about the Laune, the Reeks<\/strong>, and a kettle humming in the kitchen<\/strong>,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s when I knew the time<\/strong> had come.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The price of coming home<\/h2>\n

<\/p>\n

He saved for years, jotting numbers on scrap receipts<\/strong>, trimming back on small luxuries<\/strong>, and watching the used-car market like a hawk<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

A call from a friend in Kerry tipped him to a plate<\/strong> coming free, and suddenly the future had a local dialing<\/strong> code.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

He flew home with a suitcase, a plan, and a wallet that felt too thin<\/strong>, but a certainty that felt solid<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Learning to drive slow again<\/h2>\n

<\/p>\n

On the N70, pace is a quiet teacher<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cBack there, I judged a run by minutes<\/strong>,\u201d he said. \u201cHere, it\u2019s by the look on someone\u2019s face<\/strong> when you take the long way for the view<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

He leans into bends that reveal the river like a flash of silver<\/strong>, the Reeks standing stern and steady<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Bookings, not hails<\/h2>\n

<\/p>\n

A hackney isn\u2019t a curbside hail<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a phone that buzzes at odd hours<\/strong>, a text ping for a school run<\/strong>, a calendar filled with local names<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Se\u00e1n\u2019s day is strung between familiarity and small, necessary surprises<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

    <\/p>\n
  • Early appointments to Tralee\u2019s hospital<\/strong>, grocery drops to high cottages<\/strong>, night lifts home from the pub<\/strong>, and, in August, Puck Fair rides in happy loops<\/strong>.<\/li>\n

    \n<\/ul>\n

    <\/p>\n

    What changed\u2014and what didn\u2019t<\/h2>\n

    <\/p>\n

    The wheel is the same circle<\/strong>, but the job is a different promise<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

    <\/p>\n

    \u201cHere, you carry people who tell you about their week<\/strong>, their dad\u2019s new knee, their neighbour\u2019s missing dog<\/strong>,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s not just a ride\u2014it\u2019s a thread<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n

    <\/p>\n

    In Toronto, the faces blurred into a moving city<\/strong>; in Killorglin, they blur into a moving story<\/strong> you\u2019re part of every day<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

    <\/p>\n

    The craft returns<\/h2>\n

    <\/p>\n

    He keeps the car clean, not showroom cold<\/strong>, but the way a tool is kept ready<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

    <\/p>\n

    He\u2019s learned again how to lift a suitcase without breaking a rhythm<\/strong>, how to open a door at the perfect moment<\/strong>, how to make silence comfortable<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

    <\/p>\n

    \u201cA good fare is a good conversation<\/strong>,\u201d he said, \u201cand sometimes the best conversation is a shared quiet<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n

    <\/p>\n

    Money, in plain terms<\/h2>\n

    <\/p>\n

    No job survives on romance and views<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

    <\/p>\n

    Rates must cover tyres, insurance, and diesel that rises like a mischievous tide<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

    <\/p>\n

    What he gains now is a balance of hours and health<\/strong>, a chance to close the calendar and still feel useful<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

    <\/p>\n

    The local ledger<\/h2>\n

    <\/p>\n

    Puck Fair week is a joyous whirl<\/strong>, a reminder that a town can still be a stage<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

    <\/p>\n

    School terms mark steady mornings<\/strong>; winter asks for grit and early starts<\/strong>; summer is visitors and patient routes<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

    <\/p>\n

    \u201cIt\u2019s not boom and bust<\/strong>,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s season and sense<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n

    <\/p>\n

    The long look back<\/h2>\n

    <\/p>\n

    He keeps a Toronto token tucked in the glove box<\/strong>\u2014a faded receipt from a 3 a.m. fare<\/strong> that tipped well and said \u201cGod bless, brother<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n

    <\/p>\n

    \u201cBack then, I thought I\u2019d die in that cab<\/strong>,\u201d Se\u00e1n laughed. \u201cTurns out I just needed a different door<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n

    <\/p>\n

    Now his day begins with mist on the Laune and ends with a porch light<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

    <\/p>\n

    A license, a promise<\/h2>\n

    <\/p>\n

    Owning a hackney plate in your own town is a small, stubborn pledge<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

    <\/p>\n

    It says: I live here<\/strong>, I turn up when you call<\/strong>, and I\u2019ll get you there without hurry or fuss<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

    <\/p>\n

    It says: the road is ours<\/strong>, and the miles we share make a quiet kind of home<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

    <\/p>\n

    He checks his phone, nods at a familiar name<\/strong>, and turns the key with a practiced calm<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

    <\/p>\n

    Outside, the river goes about its endless business<\/strong>, and Se\u00e1n does the same\u2014mile by mile<\/strong>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3407,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3358","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","generate-columns","tablet-grid-50","mobile-grid-100","grid-parent","grid-50"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3358","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3358"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3358\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3384,"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3358\/revisions\/3384"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3407"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3358"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3358"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3358"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}