Everyone at Co-operation Ireland would like to express our heartfelt condolences to the family of our UK Ambassador Paul Kavanagh, who has passed away following a boating accident.

Paul, who was born to a Dublin father and Tyrone mother and brought up in the Irish capital before moving to England, was one of our most enthusiastic supporters and said he felt compelled to work to foster peace in Ireland.

A successful engineering entrepreneur, Paul had recently retired from his role as CEO with Imtech and was looking forward to spending more time pursuing his love of sailing, while also taking a more hands-on role with Co-operation Ireland.

In 2018 he spoke of why he felt so driven to help foster peace in Ireland.

“My mother was from the North (County Tyrone) and we have close family ties. I have always believed that for an Irish person of my generation the Good Friday Agreement is the most important historical event that has happened or is likely to happen in my lifetime. 

“It is a privilege to be a small part of the continuing work of fostering peace, prosperity and good relations across our island. Doing it through involvement with young people is a joy.”

Paul’s support saw him change the livery of his beloved Pomeroy Swan yacht to feature the logo of Co-operation Ireland ahead of his participation in annual Round Ireland Race in 2018.

“The symbolism of racing a Co-operation Ireland boat around the entire Island of Ireland and it became irresistible” he said at the time.

Paul also participated in many of our cycling challenges including the Giro D’Italia themed event in 2014 and the Bike Boston NYC Challenge in 2019.

We once again want to place on record the huge debt we owe Paul for the work he did for Co-operation Ireland over the last 12 years and send our condolences to all his friends and family. RIP.