The Dealer heard with sadness this week of Paddy Gernon’s passing.

A northside Dubliner by birth, Paddy was a renowned live exporter who shipped tens of thousands of cattle to Britain, the continent and beyond.

He was also very active with the Irish Cattle Exporters Association and served as the organisation’s representative on the board of Bord Bia for a number of years.

Like many other Dubliners, Paddy’s introduction to the livestock trade came courtesy of the Dublin Cattle Market.

Growing up

He was helping to move cattle from the Prussia Street sales each Wednesday while still in primary school, and had progressed to booking livestock onto the boats in North Wall by the time he was doing the Leaving Certificate.

He went on to work in the live shipping business with the McMonagles in Belfast, before returning south to join the Smith-Griffins in the Dublin market.

Indeed, Paddy had the distinction of starring in a bread advert for Johnson Mooney and O’Brien when they used footage of him leading one of the last cattle drives from Prussia Street.

Following the closure of the Dublin market in 1973, Paddy became a successful cattle exporter in his own right.

Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam dilis.