Dun Laoghaire Motor Yacht Club (DMYC) paid tribute to one of its earliest members when it unveiled a bench in memory of former Dublin Bay sailor and marine journalist Arthur Reynolds at the weekend.
DMYC commodore Ian Cutliffe and members of his committee attended the event, along with many friends and former Irish Times colleagues of the “journalist, storyteller, sailor, adventurer” - as the bench’s brass plaque described Reynolds.
Guests of honour were Arthur’s son Fintan Reynolds and his wife Hilary, who had travelled from England for the occasion.
Also present were Poolbeg Yacht and Boat Club commodore Jimmy Daly, his wife Mairead and grandson Harry, close friends Patricia Vik and Trond Hofvind from Bergen, Norway, and DMYC member Jeff Brownlee who helped to organise the bench installation with the club’s boatyard committee.
Unveiling a bench in memory of the late sailor, journalist and publisher Arthur Reynolds at the DMYC on Saturday were his son Fintan Reynolds, Cian Siggins and Jeff Brownlee Photo: Frank Miller
Music was performed by renowned jazz guitarist Mike Nielsen and his daughter, flautist Harriet Nielsen, while tributes were paid by artist Pete Hogan and DMYC sailor Con Moran, along with messages from friends abroad, including Susanne McIntyre, Andrea Brunner and Rose Doyle.
Jazz guitarist Mike Nielsen playing at the DMYC unveiling of a bench to marine journalist Arthur Reynolds
Flautist Harriet Nielsen playing at the DMYC
Reynolds had recorded a number of stories with his late wife Borghild, and several of these were played at the event.
The late sailor, journalist and publisher Arthur Reynolds Photo: The Skipper
The recordings have been presented to the National Folklore Collection, along with an extensive collection of Reynolds’s photos of fishing vessels and other archival material.
Originally from Dublin and a pupil of the late maritime historian Dr John de Courcy Ireland, Reynolds was a keen sailor and a long-time advocate of the fishing industry and marine sector who died in March 2023 at the age of 93.
During his career, he was a senior sub editor at The Irish Times, while publishing the monthly magazine, The Irish Skipper, which he founded in 1964.
He was publisher from the mid-1970s of Ireland Afloat, and was a long-time member of the DMYC. He also served as a member of Bord Iascaigh Mhara.
• Listen in to a 2021 Afloat 'Wavelengths' audio interview with Arthur Reynolds on facing the reality of Ireland's maritime economy after Brexit here
