REDVERS — “I just wanted to be able to say that Redvers walked down the main street of Redvers,” said Redvers McGrath, who lives in the Irish village of Tullyallen. In a Zoom call with the World-Spectator, McGrath explained how his desire to visit the town in southeast Saskatchewan that shares his name has been something he’s chased for years.
“That was kind of the attitude and over the years, I said I’d go this year, I’ll go next year, I’ll go next year, and next year wasn’t coming very quickly. And then myself and my wife, June, planned to go there this year for my 60th birthday.”
Unfortunately, June could not make that trip as she sadly passed away three years prior. McGrath decided there was no turning back, this was indeed the year.
McGrath boarded a plane headed west, landed in Toronto, then hopped a train to Winnipeg where the real adventure began.
“I tried to get the biggest pickup truck in Canada, and I was told that was the biggest one,” McGrath said with a laugh of the Dodge Ram that he cruised to Redvers with.
First contact with Redvers
Dayna Germain, who was working at the Town of Redvers office as an Administrative Assistant, first met McGrath via email message.
“He emailed me last fall, and it was perfect timing,” Germain recalled. “He was inquiring about Town of Redvers merchandise, which we actually had just announced that week.”
McGrath explained his back story and familial connection to the town, and Germain thought it was noteworthy enough that a Town of Redvers hat and toque had made it to Ireland.
A few weeks passed before Germain heard from McGrath again with plans to visit the town in September.
“Well, then lo and behold, he’s here! It was so exciting that it just kind of seemed like a pen pal that stumbled upon our website, did some browsing there, got our emails, and got in contact with me,” Germain said.
Soon, McGrath was the talk of the town, gaining friends around every corner as Redvers succeeded in his quest to walk in Redvers.
“The community loved talking to him,” Redvers CAO Tricia Pickard said. “He loved our community. He was over the moon with just the people, he had so much fun!”
The town certainly left a big impression on the Irish visitor, who had the chance to take in the popular Hole-In-One Golf Tournament, even hopping on a golf cart with Mayor Brad Bulbuck to cruise around and take in the event.
“They just are so warm and welcoming, and they just literally took me in as one of their own, which is great,” McGrath said of his new Saskatchewan friends.
There was one moment during McGrath’s visit that will especially stick with Germain.
“When he did come down in September, we were able to all get together at the town office,” she explained. “I went over and we had coffee and got to meet him. And he brought an afghan from his late wife for my daughter; she was just born a couple weeks before. It was so sweet of him!”
To finally meet this old friend for the first time was a surreal experience.
“I haven’t had a pen pal for years, but it was definitely something that I looked forward to every time I heard from him,” Germain said. “To actually meet him, it was like meeting an old friend. It was like we had known each other.”
Historic connection
So what’s the link between Redvers the town and Redvers the man from Ireland? General Sir Redvers Henry Buller, a British Army officer and recipient of the Victoria Cross.
Also, he’s the person that the town is named after.
Buller was part of the Wolseley Expedition of 1870 to confront Louis Riel and the Métis during the Red River Rebellion in Manitoba, but he was fighting in the Second Boer War when the town decided to adopt his first name in 1897.
A relative of McGrath’s was in Buller’s regiment and wanted to honour the man who led the troops.
“At the time, people used to call—in particular sons—after their boss or their manager or in his case, his general,” McGrath explained. “Also, he called one of his sons Redvers, and then that came to my father, and then that came to me.”
Then came a serendipitous day in McGrath’s young scholarly career somewhere between ages 12 and 14 when his teacher made a proclamation that would alter the young man’s life.
“In history, we came across the name and when the teacher was talking, he actually stopped and he said, ‘Redvers, you’re actually in the history books’,” McGrath recalled.
The naming convention has continued, as McGrath’s nephew also has the first name Redvers. As for McGrath’s two sons, Redvers is their middle name.
Pursue the adventure
For many years, McGrath has dreamed of travelling to Saskatchewan in order to visit the town that shares his name. However, those travel plans were delayed many times before he took the plunge and decided to just go.
“When we see Canada or Australia or Africa on television, we can see the prairie and it looks big,” McGrath said. “But when you're physically standing in a field that you cannot see the end of—no matter how hard you try—it’s an amazing feeling!”
When asked what his advice might be for someone daydreaming about taking a special trip “someday,” his reply was akin to the famous Nike motto of ‘Just Do It.’
“If you’re going to do anything like that, you should just buy your ticket and then you can’t return it, you can’t back out, really,” he said. “We always make money, there’s no saving money for a rainy day; it rains here every day! So if you try to save money for a rainy day, you’ll have a lot of money, but no life.”
With any luck, McGrath may return to Redvers for his 65th birthday.
“I’d love to do it again. It was an unbelievable experience,” he said. “It’s something I’ve never experienced in my lifetime.”
The adventure has sparked somewhat of a lasting legacy as McGrath, who is on the local national school board in Tullyallen, is planning to set up a pen pal exchange with students at Redvers School.
