AIDAN O'HANLON:AIDAN O'HANLON, who has died aged 89, was a leading figure in the development of Ireland's modern tourist industry and in the creation of a professional public relations sector in Ireland.
But he will be remembered most for his engaging personality. He was an unpretentiously cultured man, calm, courteous and dignified, with an impish sense of humour, which never quite hid his deeply spiritual nature. His son summed him up well at his funeral: “He was in the truest sense of the expression, an old-school gentleman.”
Aidan O’Hanlon was born in Dublin in 1921, the son of journalist and writer Terence O’Hanlon, who was proud of his roots in Slieve Gullion, south Armagh.
He was educated in Coláiste Mhuire where began a lifetime’s love of the Irish language. Among his most recent delights were regular sessions with another former classmate, himself a person of national significance in his own profession, who “wanted to brush up on his Irish”.
O'Hanlon took an MA (English) at UCD and studied Law at King's Inns. His career in journalism began in the Catholic Standardnewspaper for "no pay, but plenty of experience".
He subsequently held senior journalistic positions in the Irish Independent, Sunday Press, the IrishNews Agency and the Evening Mail, this last taken on, on his afternoons off, in order to fund what was then an almost unheard of annual visit to continental Europe. It was the start of a life-long passion for international travel.
He served also as part-time press officer for the Irish Medical Association (later the IMO) which needed media assistance in the coming battle with minister for health Dr Noel Browne over the Mother and Child Scheme and other issues.
In 1954 he became public relations officer for An Bord Fáilte, the body responsible for the physical development of tourism infrastructure. He later became additionally responsible for international as well as domestic publicity.
He was one of a small group of visionaries, led by director general Dr Tim O’Driscoll under the chairmanship of the redoubtable Brendan O’Regan who foresaw the economic potential of tourism and set about laying the foundations for the development of facilities and bringing innovative marketing skills to international tourism promotion.
O’Hanlon’s job was to persuade a sceptical Ireland that investment in tourism would bring jobs and other economic benefits, particularly to areas with few other opportunities.
He recalled in a recent talk that formidable barriers to the message existed, ranging from politicians and media to Bishop Lucey of Cork and Ross.
“I dreaded the Confirmation season because the good bishop rarely missed the opportunity to have a swipe at the tourism authorities!”
Undeterred, Bord Fáilte Éireann, as it became, pressed ahead with its “Tourism is Everybody’s Business” campaign and O’Hanlon carried the message to a wide range of opinion formers, from politicians and media to chambers of commerce, local development, industry and community groups in countless parish halls.
Committed to the preservation and protection of Ireland’s natural and man-made heritage, O’Hanlon spoke forcefully against what he saw as the despoliation of scenic areas, even by tourism developments.
Not surprisingly, therefore, he was one of the instigators of the National Tidy Towns Competition which was to encourage local people to tackle the dull greyness and dereliction which characterised so many urban areas in the late 1950s.
What started with 50 entries in 1958 had grown to almost 700 when the competition was transferred to the Department of the Environment in 1995 where it is still maintained as a major national endeavour.
He was also a leader among the relatively small number of public relations executives who developed professional public relations practice in Ireland.
He was president of the Public Relations Institute of Ireland and was honoured with a life fellowship by the institute.
When violence erupted in Northern Ireland in 1969 O’Hanlon was among a small group of experts in media – from semi-State bodies – who were enlisted by the government to assist key embassies, whose limited information capacity was overwhelmed by the demands of the international media for responses to what was seen as the growing turmoil in Ireland.
Based in the Irish Embassy in London, O’Hanlon’s role included supporting diplomatic staff in communicating the government’s position on contentious issues.
After 24 years as a senior figure in Bord Fáilte, he succeeded Alan Montgomery to the top private sector PR job in Ireland, public relations manager of Guinness. For seven years prior to retirement his cultured, assured and respected presence added enormously to the promotion and development of Guinness during the early stages of the restructuring of the company in Dublin.
Since turning 80, O’Hanlon’s travels, accompanied by family members, have included South Africa, France, Burma, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Thailand, Japan, London and New York. Venice was on the list for later this year and he remained active in the travel trade organisation Skal.
He is survived by his wife Helen, daughters Abigail and Esther, son Emmet, and his extended family.
Aidan OHanlon: born April 26th, 1921; died February 19th, 2011