#Lecture - The Winter lecture season of the Glenua Sailing Centre continues with the February lecture, ‘George Forbes –Longford’s Forgotten Admiral’.

The illustrated lecture to be presented by Joe Varley next Thursday 4th February (20:00hrs) takes place at the Poolbeg Yacht & Boat Club, Ringsend, Dublin. There will be an entry fee of €5 in aid of the R.N.L.I.

Joe has a reputation for being an engaging and entertaining lecturer. With a passion for the sea from his seagoing experience as a radio officer and his time as a sailing instructor with Glenans, Joe is now active as a maritime researcher. In addition as a volunteer with the Maritime Institute of Ireland which has its premises at the National Maritime Museum of Ireland in Dun Laoghaire.

His illustrated presentation on the colourful life and remarkable achievements of George Forbes, 3rd Earl of Granard, will reveal a neglected naval tradition in the quiet Longford village of Newtownforbes where Forbes was born in 1685.

Forbes was a Royal Navy commander, diplomat and politician who held posts of high distinction throughout Europe. He went to sea at a young age and was present at some of the most significant events of his age, including the Capture of Gibraltar in 1704. He acted as advisor for the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles VI, in the foundation of the short-lived Austrian navy. Similarly, in 1734, while on a trade visit to Russia, he was invited to assist in the development of the Russian Navy. On his retirement from the Royal Navy, he returned to Newtownforbes where he lived until his death in 1785.