A half century of journalistic contacts
By Tom Gillespie
WITH over half a century in the journalistic game I have accumulated a bizarre collection of hundreds of business card connections from across four continents - the odd one out being Australia, and I would have discarded as many more.
Having been in Africa on eight occasions to Zimbabwe, Tunisia, Morocco and Egypt, I have a great fondness for that continent.
My trips to Zimbabwe, courtesy of the national tourism authority, during the reign of the late President Robert Mugabe, brought Irish and UK journalists to Harare, Bulawayo, Victoria Falls and various game reserves.
We flew from London to Harare with Air Zimbabwe and on arrival we were greeted by Moses Mapanda, general manager, Air Zimbabwe Passenger Company, as well as Dr. Peter S. Chikumba, group chief executive officer, and Vickey T. Mungazi, marketing executive of Air Zimbabwe Holdings.
While staying in Bulawayo we visited The Cattleman restaurant run by Irishman Francis McGovern whose motto was ‘Our reputation is at steak’ and certainly his steaks were top class.
We were just a few hundred yards from our hotel but Francis insisted on driving us there as it was pitch back outside.
Earlier we had been on safari with Ian Harmer, managing director of The African Wanderer.
On another visit we stayed at Camp Amanda, one of four luxury and intimate safari camps and lodges set in the remote wilderness areas of Hwange National Park and the Matopos National Park.
Tucked away into an ancient bushman’s shelter, Camp Amanda left an indelible impression on me.
We were greeted by Sharon Stead, marketing director of the Amanda Collection.
While on safari there we witnessed, up close, a pack of wild dogs savage a warthog and the following morning we went fishing for tiger fish, with great success.
On two of the visits we stayed at Victoria Falls Safari Lodge where chief executive Ross Kennedy of Africa Albida was our host. The lodge was situated on a plateau just 4km from the majestic Victoria Falls, and is Africa Albida Tourism’s flagship property.
One of the Great Wonders of the World, Victoria Falls is set on the Zambezi River in southern Africa, which provides a habitat for several unique species of plants and animals. It is located on the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe and is one of the world's largest waterfalls, with a width of 5,604 feet.
I had dozens of business cards from America - New York, Boston, Philadelphia and Orlando - that have been lost over the years.
Two have survived - Ciaran Staunton from his O’Neil’s pub on 729 3rd Avenue in NY and Alison C. D’Amario, the director of education at the Salem Witch Museum in Salem, Massachusetts.
West of Ireland journalists had travelled to Boston from Ireland West Airport and we visited the Salem Witch Museum.
The museum examines one of the most enduring and emotional events in American history - the Salem witch trials of 1692. The museum consists of two presentations.
The first presentation provides a look into the events of 1692. Visitors experience the drama of that dark time though 13 life-size stage sets, figures, lighting and narration as they are witness to the web of lies and intrigue of the Salem witch-hunt.
The second exhibit, Witches: Evolving Perceptions, is a tour focusing on the meaning behind the word witch and evolution of the image of the witch over time. This presentation focuses on the European witch trials and the background leading to the Salem witch trials.
Before taking the tour we were warned that the museum presentation depicted tragic history, including a tableau of the Devil, the pressing of Giles Corey and hanging of George Burroughs and may not be suitable for all audiences.
Sunway Travel brought us to Agadir in Morocco where I met Dennis Chiren, the company’s resort manager, and tour guide Mrs. Touria Es-Sbane.
Concord Travel flew us from Dublin Airport to Croatia and we were accompanied by their marketing manager, Smilja Lombardic. There we dined in the Porat Restaurant in Makarska which was run by Zdenka and Karin Puharic.
On several occasions I covered EU events in Brussels and Strasbourg but the most outstanding was when the late MEP, John Hume, took several of us to dinner in his favourite restaurant, Maison des Tanneurs, in the city.
I am a regular visitor to Puerto del Carmen in Lanzarote where I have forged many friendships. Among those are Terry Patchell, late of the Rendezvous Bar, and one of his regular customers, Terry Potter, head of recruitment at Leeds United.
Of course, Ireland West Airport has always been top of my journalistic list. From the base I travelled to London, Manchester, Birmingham, Glasgow, East Midlands, Bristol, Liverpool as well as familiarisation trips to France and Portugal.
On the trip to East Midlands I visited what I would describe as the ultimate food shop.
It was the Cheese and Wine Shop run by Terry Farr in Darlington, County Durham.
One of the many contacts we had was with Lynda Clayton, business tourism officer with Tees Valley.
In Liverpool we got The Beatles tour and we met three executives from the Mersey Partnership - James Wood, campaign manager, Alison Flint, head of visitor economy marketing, and Erica Dillon, media and communications executive.
In Bristol in 2017 we were hosted by Kathryn Davis, head of tourism, Destination Bristol, and Anna Slade, media liaison manager, Destination Bristol. In Glasgow we met Caroline Gray, public relations manager with Glasgow City Marketing Bureau, and Gayle Wilson, senior PR executive with Visit Scotland.
Since Ireland West Airport opened in 1985 I have been an avid supporter of the development and growth of the airport.
Down the years I have had contact with board members Cathal Duffy, Jim Ryan, Liam Scollan, Joe Kennedy, John Dillon and Joe Gilmore.
On the publicity side I have dealt with the genial Donal Healy, Audrey Elliott, Mark Usher, Orla Gibney and Annette Kearney.