Enda O'Coineen, chairman of Let's Do It Global, talks about his holidays
What's your earliest holiday memory?Fishing with my father on Lough Corrib, in Co Galway, searching for daddy-long-legs to use as bait.
What was your worst holiday?It was a last-minute holiday we booked in the Czech mountains for Christmas. For dinner we ate carp, because the Czechs eat fish instead of turkey, and we stayed in a cold, dark one-star hotel.
What was your best holiday?My life is a sort of holiday, and with work blended so much with leisure it's all sort of mixed up. Generally I like to do things rather than sit around. This around-the-world project is a good example. I have no commercial interest in it, but it is fun and challenging. It's run in a business way with good professional people – but is it work or a holiday? I've been to Boston, Singapore and Rio de Janeiro in recent months as part of the project. I work 24/7 and I am a good multitasker, but the nature of a holiday is different. I have a variety in what I do, and that is a change in gear.
If budget or work were not a restriction, what would be your dream holiday?It would probably be a year in the south Pacific Ocean on a charter yacht with unlimited satellite bandwidth and a Thai chef on board, along with deckhands and a paid skipper, and joined by my family and friends.
If you had your pick, who would you bring on holiday with you?I'd bring Barack Obama, but if he was tied up I'd bring the love of my life.
What's your favourite place in Ireland?My favourite place is Inisheer, in the Aran Islands, because of its utter simplicity. You are close to nature but there are very good people. You don't always get this combination in remote places, which often have beauty but no people. Whereas Inisheer has a social fabric.
Your recommended holiday reading?The World is Flat by Thomas L Friedman. I think Obama must have read the book and implemented the thinking.
Where will you go to next?I'd like to go to the South Pacific Islands and Papa New Guinea, to follow the Kokoda Trail. The best holidays tend to be to very remote places, which you cannot do in a conventional timeframe, as it takes three days to get there and three back.
** Enda O’Coineen is chairman of Let’s Do It Global, which is arranging the Galway stop of the Volvo Ocean Race and entering the boat Green Dragon, due to arrive in the city next Saturday for a two-week festival. www.letsdoitgalway.com, www.greendragonracing.com
** In conversation with Genevieve Carbery