Dempsey and Merc Piece

Dempsey of Cork celebrated its 25th anniversary with a special airbrushed Actros. Daniel Dempsey tells us the story of the company

- Dougie Rankine

Barry Dempsey started out as an owner-driver in 1991, his Volvo FL6 rigid with fridge body hauling meat products all over Ireland, the UK and Europe. Some of the customers he had then are still there today. As time moved on, one truck became two and then three, a pair of Scanias, a 92 rigid and 112 tractor unit joining the Volvo. The first Mercedes-Benz, a 1735 4x2 artic, arrived in 1994 and ever since then the three-pointed star has been represented on the fleet. Longest-serving driver Francis O’Riordan started in 1995.

“Our first Actros arrived in 1998,” recalls Barry’s son Daniel, the oldest of three brothers. The youngest, Damien, drives for the firm, while middle bro Darren works for a refrigeration company. Barry remains in charge, assisted by his wife Aileen, Darren’s girlfriend Orinta and Daniel.

“We got another Actros in 2001 and then another in 2005, which was a 1850 V8 MegaSpace airbrushed with Marilyn Monroe,” he says. “We’d have liked to have kept that one but it was involved in an accident and then exported.”

Another impressive Actros was added to the fleet in 2016, this time a MegaSpace rigid, and a very smart Axor 4x2 tractor was acquired too. The company has always been keen to try a variety of trucks and has always had a rigid on hand for getting into tight spots and a couple of vans for express delivery.