The look on his face says it all, but this 7-year-old couldn't have appreciated the love that went into his getting this bike from Santa in 1970.
The look on his face says it all; proud as punch and ready to take on the world.
But on Christmas Day in Ireland in 1970, when this photo was taken, the then 7-year-old Brendan Monaghan couldn’t have understood the love and dedication that had gone into his present from Santa.
His father Brian didn’t ramble down to the local shop for a kids racing bike; they weren’t available back then. But that didn’t stop Brian.
And now almost half a century later Brendan looks back with pride on all the trouble his father went to for him.
He recalls the painstaking work dad Brian put in; during hard times when nobody had much of anything.
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And he did it just to make his boys happy, as the photo in the front garden of the family home in College Gardens, Newry, captures so wonderfully.
“My father Brian built the bikes himself for me and my brother Barry,” says Brendan of how he came about an adult racing back cut down to size and put back together resulting in a unique Christmas present.
“He built them from second hand adult frames by taking the tubing apart at the joints then cutting it down to size to suit.
“Then he’d weld the joints together and re-spray the frame.”
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And with those hard yards put in and the child-sized frame ready to go, the rest of the bike was assembled.
“All the parts were new and bought from a shop in Leeds called Maurice Woodrup's,” recalls Brendan.
“Maurice has passed away and his son Stephen runs the shop to this day.
“They still sent my mother and father a Christmas card last week which I thought was brilliant.
“My father also built the wheels for the bike from scratch and most of the work was done in a meat factory workshop in Newry where my dad worked as a maintenance fitter.
“Me and Barry used to race the new bikes around the block for hours on Christmas Day; you never see that nowadays.
“The loop was about half a mile with one small climb. I honestly don't recall me ever beating him once.
“I suppose that's why he became an Irish international cyclist and I became a pub league footballer!”
Happy Christmas!
These days Brendan is best known for the top notch photos he takes and he still follows cycling.
On international duty, left to right: Dave Peelo, Brendan's brother Barry Monaghan, Tommie Evans, Richie McCauley, Mel Sutcliffe and Declan Lonergan.
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