When Paddy Judge stood down as Commodore of Howth Yacht Club at the AGM on Tuesday, 13th December 2022, to be succeeded by former Vice Commodore Neil Murphy, it marked much more than the conclusion of the usual two years in the hot seat. For like all clubs, HYC had experienced difficult times adjusting to the changing economic realities from 2009 onwards, and the onset of the various pandemic restrictions.

A severe cost-cutting programme had become essential, and it had to be demonstrated that the club could handle the situation with a voluntary General Manager, with Rear Commodore Paddy Judge undertaking the role. For several years, he was in the clubhouse almost every day, dealing with members’ problems and quietly monitoring the onward progress of the club’s re-organisation and expansion plans.

So when he re-focussed on being a member of the “officer corps” in order to become Commodore in December 2020, Howth YC had expanded its activities afloat and ashore to become a thriving organisation with more than 2,000 members when all categories are included. And during his peak concluding year as Commodore in 2022, the club was unprecedented in its sailing successes at home and internationally, so much so that on January 8th 2023 it was named as MG Motor “Sailing Club of the Year 2023”.

It had all been quietly achieved with an under-stated style of leadership which was exactly what the situation required. And at the unique HYC Commodores Lunch in November 2022, when HYC interacts with hospitality for all its neighbouring organisations and the supportive Fingal County Council, the club gave recognition to all who had been involved at a personal level with the popular presentation of a large bouquet of flowers to Paddy Judge’s wife Mary “with heartfelt thanks for the use of her husband for so many important years”.