Children’s TV legend Timmy Mallett: Limerick is the jewel on the sparkling River Shannon
Breakfast television star spends five days in Limerick as part of cycle tour of Ireland
CHILDREN’S television legend Timmy Mallett has described Limerick as the jewel on the “sparkling River Shannon”.
It came after he spent five days in Limerick city and county while on a bike tour visiting Ireland’s Hidden Heartlands.
“It’s a gorgeous city, really nice. I’ve been very touched by the welcome I’ve had in Limerick and how much there is to see and enjoy in this city.”
The television star was a staple of children’s television in Britain during the 1980s and 1990s.
Famed for his zany clothes - an appearance he keeps up - he is known for playfully bashing children on the head with a foam mallet if they got answers wrong in a quiz.
He also had a number one single here, and cross-channel with Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini.
Timmy used his significant social media following - over 90,000 people on Instagram alone - to promote Limerick, staying in No 1 Pery Square Hotel, visiting Castleconnell, Adare Manor, and many more places.
His highlight was visiting St Mary’s Cathedral, following an invite from Dean Niall Sloane.
“It was a brilliant view from the top - the whole expanse of Limerick is laid out before you,” he said.
Dean Sloane said he was surprised to find out Timmy was adept at bellringing.
Timmy said: "I know about bell-ringing. we have a lot of towers in England, where church bells are rung in a full 360 degree circle. I ring in my village in Berkshire, so it was a pleasure to come and try something in Limerick."
As for Limerick’s Georgian Quarter, he said: “Dublin would be proud to have a Georgian Quarter half as good as Limerick’s”.
It's not the first time the TV star was in the Mid-West.
Last year, he cycled the Wild Atlantic Way.
"Then, I took the ferry across to Tarbert. But you miss that great expanse of the Shannon and Limerick city itself. So this was an opportunity to come down and see how good the Shannon is," he said.
Dean Sloane was delighted to meet Timmy, saying: “He was lovely. I remember him as part of my childhood on Saturday mornings. He was very well-informed about the places he was visiting, but keen to learn more. He is a real gentleman. He brings joy to any situation. He is very well thought-out, despite, as we'll both know him coming across a bit daft on Wacaday (The Saturday morning show which Mallett presented)."
Cycling enthuthiast Tim Hourigan, who lives in Rathbane, also bumped into Timmy when the presenter was in Clancy's Strand.
He admits he did not initially recognise him - he was more impressed with the two wheels he was on!
"He had this fancy electric bike, and it was loaded like he was on a long trip. I just wondered where he was going. When I see a guy with a lot of stuff on his bike, I'd be curious. It was only when he spoke and I heard his voice, I realised it was Timmy Mallett! The guy hasn't aged at all. I was a kid watching him in the 1980s and he looks younger than me now," laughed Tim Hourigan.