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Denis Meagher

Denis was born at the Curragh Camp on the 27th July 1958. His father Dennis was stationed there with his wife Angela who were childhood sweethearts from County Wicklow. Obviously there was something in the Kildare air. Dennis (senior) then crossed the water pursuing work and worked as a bus driver in Coventry until his retirement. It was here that Denis (Jnr) started his education. A terror to the nuns at Corpus Christie and then Whitley Abbey School and leaving at the age of 16 he started an apprenticeship at Salts Engineering as a Toolmaker. Having completed his apprenticeship and becoming amongst many things a freeman of the city of Coventry and as a fully skilled toolmaker he moved to South Africa, an experience he greatly enjoyed. Family commitments brought him home, his late wife Karen could not settle so like a true Irish man he set about producing a football team. So three girls and a boy later it was not going quite to plan. Denis started work at Motor Panels and his natural abilities were soon recognised and he was promoted onto the managerial team. Here his natural talent, energy, engineering and managerial skills came to the fore. Increasingly frustrated with the way things were done, he decided to start his own business and on the 1st August 1993 Premier Sheet Metal (Coventry) Ltd was born. Working for major Automotive companies throughout the world making prototype metal panels and body structures the company soon expanded. Most of the projects worked on being prototype are highly secretive, but if you look at most Jaguar and Landrover Vehicle Bodies they have all started life at Premier Sheet Metal. The Company is now called The Premier Group and is spread over 9 factory units offering a full turn-key Body in White manufacturing facility to the Automotive Industry, have a look at the web-site www.thepremiergroup.eu . A very proud moment for the company happened in 2010 when TPG (The Premier Group) amongst fierce competition was chosen to manufacture twelve thousand Olympic and Paralympics torches for the 2012 London Olympic Games.  At last Denis had a chance to show the world the skills and expertise of the company he had built. A naturally unassuming man most of the photographs taken from the time contains as he calls them his people, people who’s talent he recognised and nurtured to become as he puts it ‘best in class’. Denis is fiercely proud of the traditions and skills of his adopted city Coventry, and works with the schools and colleges to keep these traditions alive, even in the midst of the recent severe recession he still had 15 young people serving various apprenticeships helping to retain these long held skills.

In 2008 Denis hit the ripe young age of 50, and decided his birthday celebrations would have to be held in Kildare at the Curragh. So he booked the Stand House Hotel on the curragh race course for 100 family members and friends to join him in his celebrations. It turned into a weekend long celebration of the likes only Kildare can produce. On Friday a full plane of revellers arrived in Dublin and a night at the Silken Thomas in Kildare Town ensued, a legendry night in a wonderful place. On the Saturday Denis and his dad visited the place on the Curragh where he was born, unfortunately the barracks he was actually born in had been pulled down (he has that effect).  Again Saturday became a blur and Sunday was spent at the curragh watching the races and on the Monday we stopped at the Poitchin Still on the way back to the airport where a kangaroo court was held and Denis was found guilty of most misdemeanours known to man.

Dennis senior had recently and unfortunately succumbed to a long illness and by becoming a sponsor to www.hoganstand.com/kildare gave Denis the opportunity to do something for his dad’s memory, as he puts it ‘for a man who lived and loved in County Kildare’.

Denis is very proud and in his father’s memory to become a sponsor of the Kildare web-site, and looks forward to visiting and cheering on the Lilywhites in the coming years.