When I met him for the first time, on a wet Sunday morning in 1989, he grasped my hand and said 'I'm Tim O'Sullivan, the famous 'Tiger'. Sitting me down in front of a blazing fire, he spent the next few hours telling me all about his life. 
He earned his living delivering milk, bottling porter and spent 30 years at Carrigaline Pottery during which, he proudly stated, he never missed a day or was late for work. A keen sportsman, he helped Carrigaline win the South East hurling championship in 1947. An outstanding runner, he recalled the day on which he ran the mile in under four and a half minutes for the Owenabue Athletic Club, beating all before him.
When the Pottery burned down in 1970, Tim got a job as a grave digger with Cork County Council. During his retirement he used to take a daily stroll through the village and then drop in to the Carrigdhoun Tavern for some light refreshment. The late Tim O'Sullivan was truly one of the last of the great 'village' characters of Carrigaline.