Irish Marine Federation Hosts Successful Shannonside AGM and Networking in Athlone

6th November 2025

Afloat.ie Team

Irish Marine industry leaders convened at the IMF AGM and networking event at Hodson Bay Hotel, Athlone, 6 November 2025. Credit: Afloat

The Irish Marine Federation (IMF) held its Annual General Meeting and trade networking event today, Thursday 6 November, at the Hodson Bay Hotel in Athlone.

The event opened with internal board proceedings, followed by the AGM from 12:00 to 13:00. Chairman Gerry Salmon delivered the opening address, highlighting the past year and setting the tone for the industry pow wow.

Key agenda items included an accounts update from Treasurer Ian O'Meara and a membership figures update from Membership Secretary Porick Murray as of September 2025.

Members also received an update on board elections set for January 2026 and were invited to contribute ideas for the federation’s 2026–2027 plans.

There was a strong attendance at the IMF networking event at the Hodson Bay Hotel

Following the agm, members of the affiliated Irish Marina Operators Association (IMOA) held a breakaway meeting that heard of buoyant berth occupancy around the coast and also on the Shannon, where waiting lists exist.

The afternoon featured a trade networking session from 15:00 to 17:00, drawing a diverse group of industry stakeholders.

Peter Harty, Inspector of Navigation at Waterways Ireland, addressed current navigation priorities and boating volumes on the river. Morgan Smyth from Silver Line Cruisers discussed the boat rental market on the river. Rory Carbury, a marine surveyor, examined trends in Ireland’s marine leisure sector. Kenneth Rumball from the Irish National Sailing School highlighted the training opportunities available through British Marine and the INSS.

An open-mic session led by Paal Janson closed the speaker line-up, focusing on boat sales trends, chandlery and marine engineering.

Chairman Salmon concluded the day with a closing address and a special lifetime achievement award to Michael Clinton, marking what attendees described as a reinvigorated forum for Irish marine businesses.

IMF Chairman Gerry Salmon presents a special lifetime achievement award to Michael Clinton (left)

The next Federation networking event will be at Royal Cork in February.

Published in Marine Trade

Tagged under

Irish Marine Federation

About The Author

Afloat.ie Team

Email The Author

Afloat.ie is Ireland's dedicated marine journalism team.

Have you got a story for our reporters? Email us here.

We've got a favour to ask

More people are reading Afloat.ie than ever thanks to the power of the internet but we're in stormy seas because advertising revenues across the media are falling fast. Unlike many news sites, we haven't put up a paywall because we want to keep our marine journalism open.

Afloat.ie is Ireland's only full-time marine journalism team and it takes time, money and hard work to produce our content.

So you can see why we need to ask for your help.

If everyone chipped in, we can enhance our coverage and our future would be more secure. You can help us through a small donation. Thank you.