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Displaying items by tag: Conor O'Byrne

#ClipperRace - Howth Yacht Club will welcome Conor O'Byrne for a special talk on his experiences in the Clipper Round the World Race on Wednesday 28 September.

In particular, the watchleader on the Irish entry Derry~Londonderry~Doire will discuss his key role in the successful recovery of a crew member who fell overboard in the Pacific Ocean during the 10th stage of the 2013-14 race on 30 March 2014.

The talk begins at 7.30pm sharp. For more details see the HYC website HERE.

Published in Clipper Race

#Clipper - A serving member of An Garda Síochána has launched his bid to compete in the next edition of the Clipper Round-The-World Yacht Race.

Conor O'Byrne, who describes himself as "a keen sailor" with a "burning desire of sailing around the world", has started a blog to record his preparations for and participation in the race, the first leg of which kicks off from England this coming August.

The garda hopes to use his place in the epic voyage to raise awareness for the Irish Underwater Search and Recovery Unit, but also has more personal reasons in mind for the challenge.

"My reason for undertaking the race and being such a long time away from home and sailing in some of the world's most punishing seas was to hopefully build on my character and to learn more about myself and other people in the most extreme conditions.

"I like to be pushed beyond my comfort zone as I enjoy a challenge."

Follow Conor's preparations for the year-long race - which takes a route via South America, South Africa, Australia, China, the USA, Panama, Canada and Northern Ireland - at his Garda Around The World blog HERE.

Published in Clipper Race

As an island economy, a healthy maritime sector is key to our national competitiveness. Virtually all our imports and exports pass through Irish ports.

Ireland is dependent on ports and shipping services to transport goods and 90% of our trade is moved though Irish ports. Shipping and maritime transport services make a significant contribution to Ireland’s ocean economy, with the sector generating €2.3 billion in turnover and employing over 5,000 people in 2018.

Ireland’s maritime industry continues to grow and progress each year with Irish ports and shipping companies making significant investments. The ports sector in Ireland is currently undergoing a number of expansions and developments with Dublin Port’s Alexandra Basin development, the development of Ringaskiddy in Cork by Port of Cork and the development of Shannon Foynes Port. Along with these major investments, shipping companies are also investing heavily in new tonnage, with Irish Ferries, CLdN and Stena leading new build programmes.

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Our pages are covering some of the most notable arrivals around our coast and reporting too on port development and shipping news.

This section of the site deals with Port and Shipping News on our largest ports Dublin Port, Port of Cork, the Shannon Estuary, Galway Harbour and Belfast Lough.

A recent study carried out for the Irish Ports Association (IPA) totalled 75.7 billion during 2004 and their net economic impact was some 5.5 billion supporting around 57, 500 full time employees.

Liam Lacey, Director of the Marine Institute’s Irish Maritime Development Office (IMDO) said, “The Irish maritime industry can look to the future with confidence. It has shown itself to be resilient and agile in responding to challenges. Over the past decade, it has had to respond to the challenges of the financial crisis of 2008, the uncertainty surrounding Brexit and recent challenges. Ireland’s maritime sector has continued to underpin our economy by maintaining vital shipping links for both trade and tourism.”