IRELAND. It is with regret that we report the death of John Caffrey, a veteran of the duty free liquor industry. Caffrey was instrumental in establishing Baileys Irish Cream as a force in the duty free business in the 1980s and 1990s. He retired as Global Duty Free Director for the brand in 1997.
He died on Sunday at his home in Ireland after a period of illness. His funeral took place on Wednesday. He will be missed by his children Sarah, Jonathan and Joanne and partner Polly, by his sister Marguerite, brother Richard, son-in-law James, relatives and a wide circle of friends.
Tributes are coming in for a hugely influential figure in the development of one of the world’s great liquor brands.
Tom Goff was a friend of Caffrey’s for many years (they were also friendly rivals when Goff headed the travel retail arm of Irish Distillers), and went into business with him wholesaling spirits in the 1990s after Caffrey’s Baileys career had ended. Goff said: “John was a great character. Wherever he went he would know people and he was so well respected within the industry. That was because he was a great businessman but also a great person. And it showed in the number of individuals from the industry who turned out for his funeral.
“John was also a highly talented artist, and he raised thousands of Euros for cancer charities through sales of his work. An Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Bertie Ahern even came to his last launch. He was a man of many talents, and he’ll be sadly missed.”
Peter O’Connor, Global PR Director for Baileys and a colleague of Caffrey’s for many years, said: “We soldiered together for years but “Caff” was also a close personal friend. He was one of the giants behind the rise of the Baileys brand. Before the abolition of intra-EU duty free he was selling 700,000 cases of Baileys in global duty free. He did business in a very personal way, but he was a tough negotiator and a very shrewd businessman.”
Aer Rianta International Retail Operations Director Bill Maxwell said: “John spent many years in the industry and was a colourful and flamboyant character. His style, humour and camaraderie will be sadly missed.”
Aer Rianta International-Middle East Managing Director John Sutcliffe described him as “a legend” and said he was deeply saddened by the news. Sutcliffe told The Moodie Report: “I have known “Caffs” for over 20 years and I am truly saddened that John has left us, for I believe that he is a great loss to us all. What a lovely man, always upbeat and full of humour even when he was going through unbelievable personal pain and troubles in his life.
“However, at this moment I think that we should remember his considerable talents, and his achievements both from a work and personal point of view. John played a huge role in the development and growth of Baileys Irish Cream. It was very difficult if not near impossible to say no to John. Also, not many in our industry will know that John was a very accomplished artist as well and his work will long stand as a legacy to a truly wonderful man. My sincere condolences go now to his partner Penny and his children. Caffs, we will miss you so very much.”
Senior ARI executives Tommy Liddy and Martin Waldron attended Wednesday’s funeral. Waldron said: “John battled cancer with great courage, dignity and huge positivety over the past few years, while at the same time emerging as an artist of national and international importance, and also generating serious Income for his key charities through his art auctions.
“To the very last week of his life “Caff” was “up for the crack”. Dave Phelan, his ex-Baileys and ex-Castle Brands colleague, and his great friend, had arranged a meal for John in his beloved Dromoland Castle on the Wednesday before he died. Unfortunately John’s illness intervened literally at the last minute.
“We travelled to John’s removal in Meath in the company of Tommy Liddy and the venerable Dave Hope, two long standing business and personal friends of John’s, a journey of five and a half hours from the west and three hours returning (we got lost… thanks John !), a journey that passed in a single breath, with laughter and tears, reminiscing about John and a few of his more memorable escapades, his wit, talent, humour, his gentle ways, and his joie de vivre.”
Samsonite Europe Director Duty Free & Travel Retail Gerry Murray was a colleague of Caffrey’s at Baileys. He said: “John hired me into the world of duty free. There is so much I could say; we had some really great times together. But I would summarise it by saying his heart was among the biggest and kindest of all people I have ever met. My condolences to his partner and children.”
Another ex-colleague, Laurie Courtney, added: “I had the great pleasure of working with “Caff” from his early days in Baileys, and was proud to consider him not only as a colleague, but also as a friend. For those of us who remain, a light and a laugh has gone out. May his family and friends be consoled with all the great memories that we have of a great Gentle-Man.”
Martin Moodie writes: John’s death comes as such sad news. He was a lovely, lovely man, full of kindness, dignity, and integrity with an irresistibly impish sense of humour. And no matter how testing the health issues he faced in recent years, he always, always, had a big smile on his face when he greeted you.
He was a tremendous help to me in my early days in the business as a liquor sector reporter, always freely drawing on his tremendous knowledge as a walking, talking pioneer for Baileys Irish Cream in the duty free channel. His latter-day corporate successors who benefit from Baileys’ huge popularity in duty free might pause for a brief moment in memory of a uniquely likeable individual who helped write the road map for the brand.
His IDV lunches at the Carlton during the Cannes show were legendary. Who else could combine Irish Stew with Irish Cream and such a large dollop of comradeship?
Among all the tales of industry Irish “˜World Rovers’ John Caffrey’s is one of the best. He was Irish spirit personified, both in his personality and, more literally, in the great brand he represented so well for so long.
We welcome other tributes to John Caffrey, either via The Moodie Report Forum or via email to Dermot.Davitt@TheMoodieReport.com or Martin@TheMoodieReport.com. All tributes will be collected in a special section of the Forum.
