“Last Friday (Jan 28th 2011) almost 500 guests attended the Irish Travel Industry Awards ceremony at the Round Room in Dublin’s Mansion House.

Craig Doyle, Master of Ceremonies for the evening revealed the winners of the inaugural awards to both travel agents and  travel industry suppliers at this inaugural Awards Ceremony.

Welcoming guests, Irish Travel Agents Association President said the Awards marked the resilience and optimism of an industry that had seen coped with extraordinary shocks during 2010

The winner of the 1st Irish Travel Agent of the Year Award was Lee Travel in Cork.  The judges explained they had based their decision on the all round excellence of this long established firm and also its determination to expand during a period of adversity – opening 3 new offices in 2010.

Speaking at the Awards, Declan  O’Connell, Managing Director of Lee Travel declared himself very honoured and paid tribute to the dedication of his staff.  He also invited guests to have a thought for those who had had to leave the industry in recent times.

Winners of other Travel Agent Awards were
Young Travel Professional of the Year: Breda Riordan (Ace Travel)
Most Innovative Agency: FCm Travel Solutions
Best Corporate Travel Agency: Carlson Wagonlit Travel

Winners of Supplier awards on the night included Royal Caribbean Cruise Line, Aer Lingus and Amadeus – each of whom one two separate awards.

Charitable dimension.   The Society of St Vincent de Paul was named as the beneficiary of a raffle on the evening and almost €7,000 was raised from guests on the night,  The  raffle with excellent prizes was rounded off appropriately when Jim Sharkey – an ITAA past President -won 2 long haul BA World Traveller Plus tickets.   Separately, the organisers presented the ITAA Benevolent Fund with a cheque for €5,000 out of the proceeds of the table sales for the evening.”

Lee Travel T/A MacDonald Travel

13 North Main st

Youghal

Co. Cork

Ireland

P: +353 24 92014

F: +353 24 93062

W: www.leetravel.ie

New Opening Hours:

Monday to Friday 9.00 – 5.30 / Youghal Office

The Cork office is open on Saturday 10.00 – 4.00 & Sunday 1.00 – 5.00

IMPORTANT TRAVEL INFORMATION

* All enquiries are valid on day of quotation only, subject to availability and terms & conditions E &OE.

* Please ensure all passports are valid.

* All passport holders including infants and children must carry machine-readable passports when travelling to the US and beyond.

* It is the clients responsibility to check if a VISA is required for their chosen destination.

* Please ensure names on tickets and passports are exactly the same.

*** SEP 2011 Be part of our Exclusive Mediterranean cruise with ” ROYAL CARIBBEAN”

Would you like to travel as part of a group or as an individual with the security of a group! Then WE would like to make your trip a reality.

*Departing 09th Sept 2011 for 8 nights.*

Prices fully inclusive. From €1015 p.person.

Our Maritime Weekend actually kicks off on Saturday (Aug 28) as Aquatrek host the Munster Final of the ‘ISA Yachtsman Euromarine Rib Challenge’ on the quays in Youghal. Photo: Michael Hussey www.youghalonline.com

If you’re part of an ISA club or training centre you should get a team together and enter. There are 2 classes – Junior and Senior. More details can be found by clicking here, or by phoning our very own John Innes on 086 859 3482.

And it’s not all about power this weekend (well, mostly it is!). We’re having a Commodore’s Cup Sailing Regatta also on Saturday afternoon. Sailors from Youghal and Inniscarra will compete on the water, and try not to get mowed down by wayward competitors in the Rib Challenge.

Youghal Harbour comes alive this Sunday when the only round of the ISA National Powerboat Championships to be held in Cork this year rolls into town and down the slipway. This will be the penultimate round of this year’s series and with points tight at the top of each class, competitive racing is guaranteed. The organisers of this round – Youghal Bay Boat Club – have been working hard to design courses that will ensure tight exciting racing with the whole event happening right in front of Youghal quays. Padraig Brooks -  Commodore of Youghal Bay Boat Club tells us “This is the first time our new club has held powerboat racing here in Youghal. We hosted a round of the Championships across in Ardmore back in July which proved to be an enormous success with huge crowds and fantastic racing and now we look forward to welcoming the racing fleets and spectators to the waters of Youghal for what’s expected to be a memorable round of the championship. The layout of the quays allows for great viewing and we hope people will come down and enjoy the racing”.

Four classes are expected to race this Sunday – 29th August: The F2 & F4 classes look light waterborne jet fighters and can attain speeds approaching 200 kilometres an hour, the T850 fleet are an exciting monohull class, while the P750 class (better known as Thundercats) will make a welcome return to these waters following a highly successful international race back in 2008. Expect lots of noise, tons of excitement and a great spectacle for a wonderful family afternoon.

This is another exciting event for the recently formed Youghal Bay Boat Club. At the start of the Summer large crowds turned out to enjoy their Open Day which was followed closely by ‘WindQuest’ – an inter-club sailing competition – and then a competitive sea-angling competition in July. Given the natural amenities in the area it’s perhaps little surprise that a club in this East Cork town should have proved so active.

Racing on Sunday begins at 12.30 and continues throughout the afternoon with several races in each class. Music and commentary on the day will be provided by Community Radio Youghal and the centre of the action will be Nealon’s Quay (next to ‘The Quays’ bar).

We’re delighted to be able to confirm some more details about the Maritime Weekend that’s taking place in Youghal this Saturday and Sunday (August 28th & 29th). Photo: Michael Hussey www.youghalonline.com Email: news@youghalonline.com

The first ‘biggie’ is an aerobatics display that will be flown by Gerry Humphreys in his Vans RV7 at 3.30pm on Saturday afternoon. This is the first time such a display has been flown in the skies over East Cork so we’re expecting it to be truly memorable. Youghal is a great location for such a display so people are advised to get along quayside to watch the excitement. Further details on this are available here on our website:
http://www.youghalbay.com/component/content/article/35-latest-news/57-aerobatic-display.html

Further details on the National Powerboat Championships – which we’re hosting on the Sunday are also available on the site, specifically on this page:
http://www.youghalbay.com/component/content/article/35-latest-news/59-maritime-weekend.html

We’re a young club (less than a year old) and there’s only so much we can do with our reach. This weekend is a continuation of the events we’ve already delivered this year and a taster of what we hope to bring in the future, so we humbly ask that you assist our endeavors by helping to spread the word.

Aidan Foley
PRO – Youghal Bay Boat Club
Tel: 086 0401 368