Top award for Murtagh Haulage

Mick Murtagh Livestock & General Haulage achieved major recognition recently when it won the 2008 National Haulier of the Year award for companies with one-to-five vehicles. After the awards ceremony, Irish Trucker caught up with the company’s managing director Mick Murtagh and discovered that he has also achieved plenty of success on the GAA fields of Westmeath.

The Murtagh Haulage fleet

Mullingar man Mick Murtagh had reason to celebrate on October 8 last when his thriving company Mick Murtagh Livestock & General Haulage was one of the big winners at the National Haulier of the Years awards ceremony which took place at the Marriott Johnstown House Hotel in Enfield, Co. Meath.

Established to honour excellence in operation or services to transport, the awards were presented by Transport Minister Noel Dempsey before over 200 representatives from the transport industry. And it proved to be a night to remember for Mick Murtagh when his company was named as the Haulier of the Year in the Owner Driver one-to-five truck category.
“I was delighted to win it,” says Mick, who has only been in the haulage business since 1999.
I was nominated by Anne and Sean in the office at TLT International in Mullingar and thought nothing more of it until I heard back that I had been short-listed for the award. If anything, I was more surprised to be nominated than to win the award. I knew once I got down to the last five than I had a decent chance of winning, so that wasn’t as big of surprise for me.”
Mick takes added satisfaction from the fact that the one-to-five category is the most competitive of all.

Mick Murtagh (left) with drivers Davy Brennan and James O�Loughlin

“Out of the 10 categories, I would say this is the hardest to win. The vast majority of hauliers in this country would be around the same size as myself. They’d be tipping along with two or three trucks,” he claims.
Mick’s achievement is all the more remarkable when it’s considered his background is in farming and he had no involvement in the haulage business before establishing what has since become known as Mick Murtagh Livestock & General Haulage. Initially, he specialised in pig transportation and, while this still accounts for a large part of his business, he now provides numerous other haulage services as well to a nationwide customer base.

Recalling how he got into the business, the former Westmeath GAA star explains: “I was managing a pig farm for Glanbia in Kinnegad when the idea first came into my head. So I went out and bought a nine-year-old Leyland DAF rigid truck and that’s how it all began. I was also out of football and hurling at the time with an injury so I was able to devote more time to the business.”
Mick’s connections in the pig industry led to him establishing a transport service for farmers sending pigs for slaughter at the Glanbia plants in Edenderry and Roscrea. Mick has maintained this valuable service while also branching out into other areas such as sand and gravel, farm feed and cement transportation.

“Where I live in The Downs, I’m sandwiched between Shay Murtagh Precast in Raharney and JJ Owens Sand & Gravel in Knockdrin so when the opportunity came along to draw bulk cement and sand and stone for those two companies, I jumped at it. I also draw cement for other well known companies in that line of business and provide a farm feed delivery service as well.”
A couple of years after he got the business up-and-running, Mick upgraded his Leyland DAF for a Scania 113 tractor unit. Then, in 2003, he bought his first new truck – a Scania 124. In 2005, he replaced the Scania 124 with a new Scania R420 and in the past 18 months he has increased his fleet to three with the purchase of two new Scania R500 Highlines.

Murtagh Haulage recently captured the National Haulier of the Year award for companies with one-to-five vehicles

The expansion in his fleet size led to Mick taking on Ballinabrackey man David Brennan and James O’Loughlin from Edenderry as drivers. “They’re two very experienced and reliable drivers. David is with me nearly two years and James joined us eight months ago.”
Mick owns two livestock trailers, one cement tanker and one tipper truck. He has his trucks serviced and maintained by Westward Scania in Strokestown, Co. Roscommon and his trailers by Paddy and Darren Casey Trailers in Naas, Co. Kildare. Repairs and servicing are also carried out by Vinny Carey of Carey Commercials and John Gannon, who is an aluminum welder and fabricator. He buys his diesel from Flynn’s of The Downs. He also owns a spacious yard in Newdown, The Downs, which is situated just off the M4 Motorway on the Dublin side of Mullingar, and plans to build a garage for repair purposes on the one-acre site in the near future.
Murtagh takes great pride in the appearance of his trucks which always look resplendent in their white and blue colours. He says: “Appearance is a big issue with me. We religiously wash the trucks once a week, sometimes two if they need to be done again. Because of the nature of the business we’re in, it can be difficult to keep the trucks clean all the time, but we make a point of keeping on top of it.”

Mick Murtagh with his son Michael Jnr at the wheel

Married to Aileen, Mick has three children – Nicolle (14), Laura (nine) and Michael (two). For many years, he played football and hurling at a high level and there is little doubt that he would still be playing but for his business commitments. “I’d probably be still at it if I had the time. I’d love to be still involved, but the business now takes priority,” comments the 34-year-old who took part in the Young European Truck Driving competition run by Scania in Sweden in 2005 and 2007.
Mick’s background is steeped in the GAA, and in football in particular. Traditionally, The Downs has been regarded as one of Westmeath’s top football clubs and Mick was on board when they ended a 23-year wait for senior championship honours in 2003 following a replay victory over Athlone. All of Mick’s family have played the game, including his younger brother Martin who was right half back on the first Westmeath team to win the All-Ireland minor title in 1995.
Mick represented the Lake County in both football and hurling, but all he had to show for his efforts was a Kehoe Cup medal he won with the hurlers. “I was unfortunate in that a few years after I retired from the inter-county scene Westmeath started to have a bit of success. I was centre forward on the football team in 2000 and it was another four years after that before they finally won a Leinster title.

“It was the same with the hurlers – they won two Christy Ring Cups (2005 and 2007) after I packed it in.”
While Mick played most of his club hurling with Clonkill, who he won a senior championship medal with in 2001, he also had a spell in the colours of arch rivals Raharney who, incidentally, Clonkill succeeded as Westmeath hurling champions this year. He also won an All-Ireland medal with Multyfarnham Agricultural College.

Apart from building a new garage, Mick has no immediate plans for expansion. He concludes by saying: “I’d like to think we’re doing a good job at the moment and we intend to keep it that way. We have some very loyal and good customers in the likes of Glanbia, JJ Owens, Shay Murtagh, Lagan Cement and Quinn Cement and our main objective is to continue providing them with the best possible service.”