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CYPRUS/IRELAND. Over 100 tributes have poured in via The Moodie Forum for the hugely popular and deeply respected Aer Rianta International executive Danny Galvin, killed in a car crash in Cyprus on Wednesday, 25 May.
[Readers can post their own tributes via the Forum at the foot of this page. Please note, there will be a delay between posting and the tributes becoming live to allow any editing].
Aer Rianta International (ARI Director General Eamon Foley told The Moodie Report: “The news of Danny’s death is very upsetting. He was one of the good guys and popular with everyone who worked with him. As you can imagine we have a few of our expats and partners who were particularly close to him and are shocked.”
Foley added in a statement to the industry: “I extend my personal sincere, deepest sympathy to Danny’s wife Diane, his children Sophie, Katie, Lauren and Kieran, his parents, brothers, sister and all his family. Danny has been part of the ARI family since 1996, working in Shannon and in a number of our overseas locations.
“Danny was someone who commanded respect, was genuinely liked by all those who were fortunate to have shared his company on a professional and personal level. This has been evident by the number of emails and phone calls over the past 24-hours from so many of you in the industry who had the pleasure of meeting Danny.
“Danny will be very sadly missed. May he rest in peace.”
Danny’s long-time boss, former Aer Rianta International-Middle East (ARI-ME) Managing Director John Sutcliffe, said: “Danny was a true professional, one of the best in our industry, but most of all he was a lovely man. He was a quiet man, but strong and very reliable. He was respected by all, and will be missed hugely by all who were lucky enough to know him.”
Long-time close colleague and friend John Kilmartin said: “He was gallant, dignified, chivalrous, honest, sincere, obliging, a true professional, no task too big or small, he made it all seem so effortless. He was ready to help and assist all, he cared not for position or title and was there to assist everyone.”
The Moodie Report joins with Danny’s colleagues at CTC-ARI Airports and Aer Rianta International in expressing our deepest condolences and sending our prayers to his wife Diane, four children and wider family.
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Danny Galvin: “Gallant, dignified, chivalrous, honest, sincere, obliging, a true professional” – John Kilmartin |
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Danny Galvin with close colleague Martin Mullen in May 2010 at the new Larnaka Airport duty free store |
Danny started his management career with C&A in the UK and Marks & Spencer in the late 80s and early 90s. He joined Aer Rianta International (ARI) in Moscow as Merchandise (Purchasing) Manager in 1994 and moved to ARI Shannon in 1996 as Group Senior Buyer for Fashions & Accessories.
Danny met his wife Diane while working in the UK and they married in 1996. Around the same time they relocated to Ireland.
In 1998 he took a step outside Aer Rianta International, relocating his family to the UK and joining Air 2000 (First Choice Airways), where he played a key role in developing the airline’s purchasing group and retail inflight model.
Danny rejoined Aer Rianta International around the millenium and served as General Manager of Kievrianta for a two-year period. He then moved to the Middle East in 2002 where he worked in a number of senior and General Manager roles In Bahrain, ARI-Middle East and Qatar before taking over as General Manager of the CTC-ARI Airport operations in Cyprus in early 2009.
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Danny with the CTC-ARI Airports team during the Moodie-Multi-National Marathon run for Hand in Hand for Haiti in March |
Comment: The travel retail trade is numb with shock at the sudden loss of one of its most popular sons, writes Martin Moodie. The tragic nature of his death, together with the knowledge that his family has lost a loved husband and father, is difficult both to accept and to comprehend.
In the words of former colleague Martin Waldron, nobody ever heard or said a bad word about Danny. He was liked and respected in equal measure and known for his quiet, chuckling humour and love of people. He was also a consummate retail professional who most recently drove the superb commercial offer at the new Larnaka Airport. He was rightly proud of that achievement.
Danny was the last executive (together with his close colleague Martin Mullen) that I visited before my own illness was diagnosed last year. We toured his new stores and his sense of passion and excitement was wonderful to behold. He also treated me with great concern and kindness and we enjoyed two leisurely nights over a pint or three at the local tavern. I like many others will remember him fondly and mourn him greatly.
Ar Dheis De go raibh a anam (“˜may his soul sit at the right hand of God’).
Had I the heavens’ embroidered cloths,
Enwrought with golden and silver light,
The blue and the dim and the dark cloths
Of night and light and the half light,
I would spread the cloths under your feet
-From Cloths of Heaven, by W.B. Yeats
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