On Wednesday 2 August, Dublin Bus celebrated 30 years of being at the heart of the Capital and launched its ‘Dublin Legends: Celebrating 30 Years of Dublin Bus Stories’ campaign.  A giant story book was unveiled in Merrion Square by some of Dublin Bus’ longest serving employees. David Byrne (joined 1973), Des O’Toole, (joined 1975), Sean Hyland (joined 1983), Theresa Lydon (joined 1984), Craig Shearer (joined 1984), and Ciaran Keogh (joined 2001) enjoyed some of their favourite stories from down through the years, a selection of which have been gathered into the giant Dublin Bus Legends story book.

Dublin Bus’ workforce of over 3,500 has been committed to getting Dubliners to where they need to be since 1987 and are best positioned to chronicle everyday Dublin life. The campaign features their stories in outdoor, digital and radio advertising. One of Dublin’s most famous sons, Damien Dempsey, lends his voice to the campaign.

Many of these stories have become legend, including that of trailblazer and bus driver Big Tom, the unofficial Mayor of Ballyfermot, who earned the respect of the whole community by organising day trips for the youths of the inner city, bringing them on the bus to parts of the city they’d never seen. Another legend was about Ethel from Bray who lived beside the Route 45a terminus and was known for bringing the drivers cups of tea and a biscuit. She was also known for her strange choice of pet, a seagull named Maureen. 

The big freeze during the winter of 2010 could have seen many stranded but 95% of Dublin Bus services remained running at the time, allowing many Dubliners to get around, including the older people of Sean McDermott Street who were able to get to their annual dinner dance and home again safely. Then there was the time a bunny magically appeared on Route 16 one day in 1989. No one knows where it came from, but the good people of Dublin Bus Lost Property managed to find him a new home.

For more stories from Dublin Bus employees, visit our YouTube channel. 

Customers can also get updates on Facebook, follow us on Twitter @dublinbusnews or call our customer service line on (01) 8734222, lines open from 08:30 - 18:00hrs  (Monday to Saturday excluding bank holidays).