Former London bus driver hailed hero may get top Limerick civic honour

A FORMER London bus driver hailed a “hero” after recovering a necklace which one of his passengers had stolen from her may receive one of Limerick’s top civic honours.

Mark Hehir - described as “one of our own” by a local councillor - is originally from Southill and his mother Elsie still lives in Janesboro.

The 62-year-old has made headlines in both Ireland and Britain after he was dismissed from his job with bus firm Metroline, where he worked as a driver.

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It came after he saw a man on board the service he was working push past a passenger and steal her necklace from around her neck before escaping.

Mr Hehir chased after the culprit and returned the necklace to its rightful owner. The thief, however, reappeared and walked towards the bus where he threw a punch at the driver.

Mr Hehir responded in self-defence by hitting the thief once, and restraining him until the police arrived.

The incident led him to be dismissed from his employment. After a lengthy process, the dismissal for gross misconduct was ruled to be fair.

However, there has been praise for the former bus driver’s actions on both sides of the Irish Sea, and here in Limerick, a bid is to be made to afford him a civic reception, with a decision set to be made by council in the coming weeks.

Fine Gael’s Sarah Kiely, a neighbour of Mr Hehir’s mother led the calls, writing to council bosses.

Describing him as “one of our own,” she added: “Mark did exactly what his instinct told him. That says huge amounts about his character, his upbringing and the type of person he is. He put himself in harm’s way to try and help somebody.”

The council’s priomh-chomhairleoir, Cllr Catherine Slattery, who will organise a reception should it be approved, added: “I think it was awful he got fired from his job. He got penalised for doing the right thing.”