A True Blue supporter
March 01, 2010Of Cavan and Galway parentage, Mick was born and reared in London where he runs the successful recycling and waste management company Powerday. However, he spent all of his summers as a child in Maudabawn, Drumgoon, which is where his late father Jack (JJ) hailed from, and he still returns regularly.
"We own a house in Annalee and I try to go across as often as I can," he explains.
"I spent a lot of my childhood in Maudabawn and I can still remember the train journey to Holyhead, the boat to Dun Laoghaire and the coach journey from Dublin to Shercock each summer. I have always had a close affinity with Drumgoon and Cavan and I try to get to as many of Cavan's championship matches as I can. I always keep an eye out for their results in the paper.
"I remember going to see them in the early 1990s when they were beaten in the first round for four years in-a-row by the eventual All-Ireland champions. Down beat them in 1991, Donegal in '92, Derry in '93 and Down beat them again in '94."
While Mick's father Jack, who died in 2002, was a native of Drumgoon, his mother Kathleen hails from Peterswell in Co. Galway. Born in Kensington, Mick and his brother Sean grew up listening to stories about their parents' homeland and they both inherited their father's passion for the GAA at a young age.
Despite Jack's association with the Parnells club, the boys played their early football with St. Agnes in Cricklewood. Mick represented London at minor level and as well as playing at Croke Park on a number of occasions, he played in the Wembley Festival tournaments in the 1970s alongside former Irish soccer international Tony Grealish.
The Crossan brothers later played club football in London with Parnells, Tara and Naomh Mhuire, while they also lined out for Drumgoon on the odd occasion. "We flew over a few times to play for them," recalls Mick, who was thrilled to see the Eire Ogs lift the All-Ireland club junior football championship in 2002.
Mick was 26 when he retired from Gaelic football, but he continued to play soccer for many years afterwards. His last soccer game was, rather fittingly, for Powerday in a charity match against the Metropolitan Police at the old Wembley Stadium. The Powerday team was managed by former Wimbledon and Chelsea goalkeeper Dave Beasant, who famously saved a penalty from former Liverpool and Republic of Ireland striker John Aldridge, in the 1988 FA Cup final.
"I'm quite friendly with Dave. In fact, I took him to Drumgoon and Cootehill a few years ago and thoroughly enjoyed himself," he says.
Mick is married to Eileen Davitt, whose parents came from Belmullet, Co. Mayo and Newcastlewest, Co. Limerick, and they have four children, Chelsea, Edward, Jessica and Tara. He is a member of the Cavan Association in London and has sponsored the Cavan Man's Golf Day in Greenford for the past three years in conjunction with Sean Fitzpatrick of the VGC Group in Ruislip and organiser Tommy Duffy. He is also president of the London Irish Rugby Academy in Sunbury (their spiritual home).
The affable cockney's devotion to Chelsea FC is such that he has missed just one game - both home and away - in the past 16 years. A self-confessed Chelsea fanatic, he has followed the Stamford Bridge outfit throughout the length and breadth of Britain and Europe since he started supporting them in 1963. Until recently, he owned a corporate box at Stamford Bridge, which he kindly made available to many people from Ireland, including former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern.
"We had Bertie over for a game against Spurs a few years ago. He loves his soccer and he enjoyed that particular game, which of course Chelsea won," Mick says.
After many lean years, Chelsea have emerged as one of the leading powers in European soccer over the past decade. They won back-to-back Premierships under Jose Mourinho in 2005 and 2006 and are on course to win back the title from Manchester United this season under their Italian supremo Carlo Ancelotti. However, Mick won't feel fully contented until such time as they win the elusive Champions League.
"The Premier League is ours to lose this year, but the Champions League is the one we really want. It's frustrating to think how close we've come over the past few years to winning it. Losing the final to Manchester United two years ago has to be the biggest disappointment I've ever experienced in all my time following Chelsea.
"Any Chelsea fan that was in Moscow that night will forever be haunted by John Terry's miss in the penalty shootout."
Mick and his brother Sean set up a labour hire business in 1977 with the help of their father before buying their first skip lorry in 1980 and founding Powerday. Mick has since become the sole proprietor of the company, which provides recycling and waste management solutions.
Powerday provide an alternative to landfill, delivering 100 per cent recovery from waste to businesses and organisations across London and beyond. Providing this environmentally responsible approach, Powerday has experienced significant growth, doubling in size in the past three years. The company has a strong belief in its responsibility to the environment and local community. It has invested to maximise recycling and then to produce a fuel for energy recovery from residual waste. Traceability is assured with virtually all materials remaining in the UK. .
Powerday's main site sits on a 26-mile lock-free section of the Grand Union Canal between Camden and Slough, just five miles from Oxford Street. It is licensed to process 1.6 million tonnes of waste, which is the equivalent of eight per cent of London's entire waste, and operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
The company's wharf can take three 90 ft barrages at any one time, carrying up to 80 tonnes of waste each time. The site is also situated at a railway junction hub and has its own sidings. A train leaves these sidings daily carrying recovered soil to Buckinghamshire and Bedfordshire for use in restoration schemes. One train holds the equivalent of 70 lorry loads of material, making this an extremely environmentally responsible option.
Powerday harvest rainwater for use in dust suppression and road cleaning around the Old Oak Sidings site as well as in the fire-safety system. A new viewing gantry and training room has been built to provide safe and effective viewpoints for clients and other visitors interested in learning more about the recycling and recovery process.
Powerday also has recycling facilities in Enfield, Brixton and Neasden and plans to open another facility on a 27-acre site in West Drayton, not far from Heathrow Airport. The company, whose clients include major construction and house building companies and local authorities, employs 100 staff overall. Tweet
