Susan stopping the traffic as Liz drives off into retirement

Liz Reilly held up the traffic for 36 years in the centre of Mullingar, for the best of reasons – so that children could cross the road safely.

Liz had control of the lollipop that has the power to make drivers pause, and at the start of the autumn term, she handed over responsibility to Susan Cleary, who is already a familiar and friendly figure at the roundabout next to Gillerans on Harbour Street.

Speaking to the Westmeath Examiner before the schools broke up for Christmas, Liz said she “enjoyed every minute” of the job.

She had been a telephonist with the P&T, the job that brought her from her native Laois to Mullingar half a century ago, and also worked in childcare with the Rainbow preschool.

Now retired, Liz plans to spend more time with her family, including her grandchildren, aged from “29 down to 10”. They are Shane, Chloe, Charmaine, Ciara, Shannon and Dylan. Liz’s four children are Lisa, Michelle, Tony and Paul, and her husband is Billy.

She also walks the dog and, “I come down and look at everyone here for a while every so often”.

She is enjoying retirement as she enjoyed working, and she advised Susan to do the same: “I mean to say, it is lovely, it’s a nice job. I’ve made friends for life.”

Just at that, a young boy passed by and had a cheerful greeting for Liz. “From that age up,” she said. And they’re coming to me now to say hello and these fellas are bald!”

“I put Susan across the road, actually.”

That was when Susan was a pupil at the Presentation School, and now Susan has the responsibility of guiding new generations safely across what is an increasingly busy road.

“I had the pleasure of having Liz cross me over the road in the ’90s when I was going to school. Then, when I saw the job come up, I thought it was perfect, ideal around my own children going to school, and I always remembered Liz and how lovely she was, and I loved coming up to see her .

“I said that in my interview and I couldn’t believe it when it was Liz I was replacing, that she was still here. I’m only doing it since the end of August, and I absolutely love it. I love seeing the kids every day.

"Actually, I was laughing because quite a few of them are in sixth class, so they’ll be going off to secondary school, and I feel already I’m going to miss them – and I’ve only got to know them in the last few months.”