Jackie hard at work

Jackie Loftus or, as the young children of the Knockthomas area call him, 'Jackie Smarties', on his weekly visit to the area armed with his camera a large box of smarties in his pocket he would distribute the smarties out to the young children of the area. His weekly round collecting the rent became a highlight of the week for kids for over twenty years.You could always tell which house Jackie was in by the group of young children waiting outside for him to see if they would get a few extra smarties.  A great community man, we always looked forward to his weekly visit for a cup of tea and a chat. Jackie also has great a passion for photography and anything that caught his eye the camera would be out and captured to add to his vast archive of photographs. It was his passion for photography that influenced me to take it up and have had many years of enjoyment since. Hopefully, sometime in the future Jackie will go through his vast archive of local events and put a collection together to upload here on Castlebar.ie. 
Thanks Jackie and we look forward to many more years of your weekly visits you are one of life's great gentlemen .