John O’ Shea, Manchester United and Republic of Ireland defender, today
(Fri) officially opened the riverside office being used by the team
coordinating his native Waterfords hosting of The Tall Ships Races 2011.
Seven-year-old Manchester United fanatic Ben Meagher with his hero John
OShea as the Man Utd and Republic of Ireland defender opened an office in
his native Waterford for The Tall Ships Races which will be held in the
city from June 30-July 3, 2011. Ben is currently battling a
life-threatening illness. (Photo: Dylan Vaughan)
Over 500,000 Irish and overseas visitors are expected to generate a 35m
economic boost for Waterford from June 30-July 3, 2011 as some 70 Tall
Ships and their crews gather for the start of the annual race series
presented by Szczecin and organised by Sail Training International.
The new offices in the former Fáilte Ireland premises at 41 The Quay,
Waterford will allow the team driving the event to work from a single,
easy to find location in the city centre.
Opening the office, John O’ Shea said: Everyone in Waterford still has
great memories of 2005 when The Tall Ships Races were last here and its
great that they are coming back next summer. The crowds bring a great buzz
to both sides of the river and Waterford is an ideal sized city for this
kind of event. Its also a real plus now that the road network to get into
and around the city is so much better.
While the Tall Ships and the crews from around the world are the star
attractions, the organisers are also clearly very ambitious about the
entertainment thats going to be on offer along the quays and around the
city so it promises to be a great four-day party for everyone to enjoy.
Meanwhile, details have been announced of patron packages that will see
businesses climb on board in support of Waterfords hosting of the
international event.
Admiral patrons will provide 20,000 of support; Commodore patrons 10,000
and Captain patrons 5,000. Patrons at each level will be publicly
recognised in the lead up to and during the event as well as enjoying
hospitality at a patrons reception on board one of the visiting Tall
Ships and at the Parade of Sail Family Breakfast as the Tall Ships sail
out of Waterford. They will also have a range of branding opportunities
connecting their business to the spectacle.
Colin Collinson has been appointed as sales executive and will be
responsible for liaising with those interested in becoming patrons. The
University of Limerick graduate has previously worked with Diageo and
National Business Machines.
Des Whelan, Chairman, The Tall Ships Races 2011 (Waterford), said: The
patrons programme provides a great way for local businesses in particular
to show their support for The Tall Ships Races in a tangible way that they
get a great business return on right through to next summer and
particularly while the visiting fleet is in port. Its a challenging
time in business but theres a real recognition in Waterford of how
valuable hosting The Tall Ships Races is to the city, the region and the
country.
With over a year to go before Waterford hosts The Tall Ships Races, four
of the largest Class A tall ships have already indicated that they will be
in Ireland for the start of next years race series.
The first Class A tall ship to outline their plans was Christian Radich
(Norway) while Eendracht (Netherlands); Pelican of London (UK) and Mir
(Russia) have also indicated they will include Waterford in their 2011
itineraries. At over 100 metres in length, Mir is one of the largest sail
training Tall Ships in the world and will be returning to Waterford having
also participated in 2005.
Other Tall Ships due to take part include Swan, a restored 110-year-old
Scottish fishing vessel; John Laing, an Ocean Youth Trust ketch and ASTA,
entered by the German Navy.
When they leave Waterford after the Parade of Sail on July 3, 2011, the
tall ships will race around Irelands south, west and north coasts to
Greenock, Scotland. Later, there will be a cruise-in-company from Greenock
to Lerwick in the Shetland Isles. The second race in the series will then
go from Lerwick to Stavanger, Norway from where the third and final race
will bring the fleet to Halmstad, Sweden.
