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Displaying items by tag: Damien Oliver

Trinity House, the General Lighthouse Authority (GLA) for England, Wales, Channel Islands and Gibraltar, has recently appointed Damien Oliver as its new Director of Major Projects. 

Damien’s appointment sees him as the lead on the Vessel Replacement Project, where he will work closely with internal and external stakeholders to drive forward the procurement process to a successful conclusion.

The Vessel Replacement Project is to replace the veteran aids to navigation tender, THV Patricia as Afloat previously reported dating to 1982, which made a rare call to Dun Laoghaire Harbour on the occasion of Irish Lights officially opening its new headquarters in 2008.

Damien joins Trinity House direct from a short-term secondment to Sellafield where he led major decommissioning programmes to make safe their 75-year-old nuclear legacy.

He also has over 20 years’ experience in senior roles within the Maritime Coastguard Agency (MCA) making him ideally suited to Trinity House as a GLA and our specific responsibility for navigational safety.

Published in Lighthouses

Irish Sailing

The Irish Sailing Association, also known as Irish Sailing, is the national governing body for sailing, powerboating and windsurfing in Ireland.

Founded in 1945 as the Irish Dinghy Racing Association, it became the Irish Yachting Association in 1964 and the Irish Sailing Association in 1992.

Irish Sailing is a Member National Authority (MNA) of World Sailing and a member of the Olympic Federation of Ireland.

The Association is governed by a volunteer board, elected by the member clubs. Policy Groups provide the link with members and stakeholders while advising the Board on specialist areas. There is a professional administration and performance staff, based at the headquarters in Dun Laoghaire, Co. Dublin.

Core functions include the regulation of sailing education, administering racing and selection of Irish sailors for international competition. It is the body recognised by the Olympic Federation of Ireland for nominating Irish qualified sailors to be considered for selection to represent Ireland at the Olympic Games. Irish sailors have medalled twice at the Olympics – David Wilkins and Jamie Wikinson at the 1980 games, and Annalise Murphy at the 2016 games.

The Association, through its network of clubs and centres, offers curriculum-based training in the various sailing, windsurfing and powerboating disciplines. Irish Sailing qualifications are recognised by Irish and European Authorities. Most prominent of these are the Yachtmaster and the International Certificate of Competency.

It runs the annual All-Ireland Championships (formerly the Helmsman’s Championship) for senior and junior sailors.

The Association has been led by leading lights in the sailing and business communities. These include Douglas Heard, Clayton Love Junior, John Burke and Robert Dix.

Close to 100 sailors have represented Ireland at the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Membership of Irish Sailing is either by direct application or through membership of an affiliated organisation. The annual membership fee ranges from €75 for families, down to €20 for Seniors and Juniors.