I was always the one who got the job of writing the article for the club magazine after a run or a rally and it was only last week I had to write one on the Linkert Attacks for my good friend Don Doody in Canada but I never thought I would have to write this one.
I texted a few good friends that day “The great man was laid to rest at one O clock today” and he truly was a great man. Liam Fitzpatrick was a larger than life character, the eternal optimist and the most charismatic man I have ever met and one I was proud to call a good friend. He was a giant of a man in both stature and character.  He loved life and lived it to the full. Everybody else just talked about it Liam went out and did it.  No job was too big, no problem too difficult and no journey too long. He made his living installing and repairing water pumps and milking machines so he was always on call and always there to help but more so was always on call to his many friends.
I remember at the Linkert Attack rally in France last year and a group of us were heading back to the camp site long after dark. One of the UK guy’s Milo broke down on a country road. The rivets securing the back sprocket had all sheared. Liam cut a piece of wire from a nearby fence and tied the sprocket back in place and had him back on the road in half an hour without even taking off his helmet or gloves!.  Milo’s brother Renshaw was so impressed he said he was going to buy a water pump just so he could have Liam fix it!
Liam was always in the thick of the action, always the first to lend a helping hand. He helped everybody and had a word for everybody but most will remember him for his hearty laugh, loud voice and broad smile. His great love was motorcycles and everybody who rode them and it’s ironic and tragic that he died doing the thing he loved most.  He was a very accomplished rider having ridden all kinds of motorcycles in nearly every continent, all over Europe, USA and even into North Africa. In his younger days he also competed in motocross and trials events. He was also a talented mechanic and had an uncanny knack of diagnosing a problem and finding the solution in no time.

 Another example, we were travelling to the Linkert Attacks rally and were heading over the mountains in Wales when Jimmy’s Shovel cut out in the middle of nowhere and of course it was milling rain and getting dark. The problem was a flat battery and charging system not working. That was our second breakdown that day and I thought this is surely it we are stuck now.  Jimmy and I were throwing in the towel but not Liam. He took the battery out of my Chief and put it into Jimmy’s shovel and got that running. He put the flat battery into my Chief. Got two pieces of wire from his pocket and connected the battery from Jimmy’s shovel which was running onto the battery on my Chief which now had the flat battery.  Left it for about ten minutes then told me to start it up which it did. Left the wires connected for another few minutes and then removed them. Result both bikes were running. He knew my Chief would charge up the flat battery as we were travelling and Jimmy’s Shovel now had a fully charged battery.  Jimmy and I were gob smacked. Liam laughed and said “Number one rule applies at all times, do not panic” We got to the rally and home again with no more issues thanks to Liam.
Whenever we were on the bikes together he would always pull up alongside and with a wide grin on his face would punch the air and close his fist with his thumb in the air. He did this to everybody in the pack and it kept everybody going especially if it was a long journey or if it was raining. He was always there in my rear view mirror with his broad smile.  Liam was happiest when he was with his friends, out on the bikes or drinking his favourite drink the large bottle of Guinness or “Dano”.  In 2010 Paddy, PJ and myself travelled to Norway with Liam to the Indian rally. We brought eight crates of Guinness to last us for the rally. They were all gone the first night! Liam wanted everybody to try a bottle of Guinness so he gave them all away!  The same thing happened in Holland the following year. I remember Liam saw Tim Berry entering the rally field and he immediately ran down to give him a bottle of Guinness.  We were with him the day he bought his beloved dark blue 1930 Indian Four in Belgium and he was so happy with his purchase he paid for dinner for Paddy, Mick and I that night. That bike was definitely his favourite.
I am sure we all have great stories to tell about Liam and great memories. I missed the Indian rally in Denmark this year but I know anybody that was in Liam’s company had a good time.  He travelled with his good friend Paddy Guerin. Liam always referred to Paddy as Dad and he would always say “Dad is as contreary as ever” but I know he thought the world of Paddy.  Nick Roud told me they were sitting round the table and he remembers Liam doubled over with laughter.  He told me this is the vision of Liam that he will always have.  He rang me from the rally and told me he was having a “flaking time” and he was chatting with the boys from Sweden Martin, Hank, Chris and Fredrick and you know he said “these boys are as cool as penguins piss”
Liam was as cool as penguins piss. We will never forget him and we will never meet anybody like him again. He gave something to us all but sadly and through no fault of his own he took even more away with his passing. His funeral was the biggest I have ever seen. Over five thousand people turned up at the wake and everybody was given food and drink.  I was told about three hundred bikes turned up for the funeral. His uncle and priest Father John Fitzpatrick said mass and gave a lovely sermon about Liam. His good friend Brendan Begley sang a song he composed for the funeral.  Liam will be sadly missed by all but more so by his partner Jackie his mother Eileen, his daughters Michelle and Sarah and his five sisters, his good friends Noreen, Timmy O Dee, and Tom. Thanks to all who attended the funeral and sent condolences. Too many to mention. 
Ride free now my friend for I know every time I look in my rear view mirror you will always be there with that broad smile.  I will be expecting a phone call any day now and you will be telling me you are having a “flaking time” up there in heaven.

Jim Cuddihy