Biker builds unique hearse to give motorcyclists one 'final ride' 

Pat Noonan with the trike hearse he designed and built in Co Cork. Picture: Denis Minihane

A lifelong biker has built a unique hearse to give fellow bikers an exclusive final ride in peace.

Pat Noonan, 52, said unveiling his one-of-a-kind, custom-built, tricycle hearse for that final journey is the culmination of a long-held dream.

“I’m nervous and excited at the same time to unveil it. Some people will like it, some won’t, but that’s life,” he said.

An experienced biker and a skilled carpenter by trade, Pat, who lives in Ballyvolane on the northside of Cork city, said he was inspired to build it after being part of a motorbike cavalcade at the funeral of a very close biker friend a few years ago.

“I was at the back of the motorcycle cavalcade that came to a stop on the motorway,” he said.

“As I looked above the sea of motorcycle helmets towards the hearse in the distance, it occurred to me that following a car hearse is not in keeping with a lifestyle lived around motorcycles."

I wanted to break from the traditional funeral hearse and set about custom-building a trike hearse — as a tribute to our loved ones, to send them out in style on their final ride.

And so began his dream.

The father-of-two and grandfather-of-two owned a magnificent vintage 1988 Honda Goldwing GL1500 Aspencade, a member of the legendary touring motorcycle family but needed something that could carry a coffin.

So, he bought a 1996 Ford Scorpio Ultima — an executive car produced by Ford in the late 1980s and early 1990s — which had been converted into a three-door hearse and started working on ways to merge both vehicles.

He removed the rear section of the motorbike and the front of the hearse, and engineered a chassis to affix the rear the hearse, including its rear axle, to the reinforced frame of the Goldwing, with a reinforced leading link front-end containing the bike’s front wheel.

A motorcyclist's helmet and gloves alongside a coffin in Pat Noonan's trike hearse. Picture: Denis Minihane

And so was born the trike hearse — a bespoke sleek, jet-black three-wheel vehicle stretching 16-feet six inches, or just over five metres. The coffin slides in the back as it would in a regular hearse but up front, it’s a Goldwing.

“This is a one-off. There is nothing like it anywhere in Ireland, certainly, and of this model or type in the world, as far as I know,” Pat said.

“It’s a dream of one, built by many. I’ve had so much help and positive comments along the way, and I’ve learned a lot, and am delighted now that it’s done.” 

Pat is very active in the biker community, volunteering with Blood Bike South, the biker charity which provides a voluntary out-of-hours motorcycle transport service between hospitals in the southern region and beyond.

He also appeared on BBC2’s Mary Berry’s Simple Comforts TV programme transporting the queen of British baking, Mary Berry, complete with leathers and goggles from Adare-based Sprocket and Hubs Motorcycles, in a Royal Enfield Bullet sidecar along the Butter Road as part of her culinary tour of Ireland.

Pat's executive hearse transport service will be provided through funeral directors.

You can make enquiries here: www.RideInPeace.ie