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Introduction

Eddie Kelliher (Edward J Kelliher) was a sailor and businessman from Ireland. He maintained a membership with the Royal Irish Yacht Club in Dun Laoghaire for over 62 years, and became the first Olympian to be associated with the club. He participated in the 1964 Olympics which took place in Tokyo, Japan, the first time an Olympics tournament took place in Asia. Alongside a career in sailing, he also became chairman in the O’Connell street branch of the well-known Irish bookstore, Eason, as well as becoming the president of the Dublin Chamber of Commerce. He later died at 98 years of age, with his funeral taking place in Dun Laoghaire, where he spent much of his adult life.

Early life

Eddie Kelliher was born in the town of Tralee, County Kerry, on the 8th March 1920. He grew up alongside his sister Sue McKenna (Nee Kelliher) before moving to Dublin as a teenager. His family had a long history of attending Castleknock Secondary School in Country Dublin and Kelliher went on to continue this trend by attending the school as a boarding student throughout his teenage years following the move to the capital from his place of birth. At a similar time, Kelliher began to develop an interest in the water and in sailing. His first experiences in sailing did not occur until he was fifteen years old, and these took place off Fenit harbour, Tralee.

From an early age Kelliher was surrounded by an entrepreneurial atmosphere, as the Kelliher family were known as general merchants and millers since 1859. Following the completion of his studies at Castleknock, Kelliher did a year long apprenticeship within the family business. At that time, many of the workers who joined a family business remained in that company for the rest of their lives, however, Kelliher moved on to other roles within different companies. Kelliher would later become a chairman in Eason’s as well as the president of Dublin Chamber of Commerce in 1978.