By Barry Coughlan
In order to bring this week’s Irish tourism/travel article up to the present time, 2023, it’s necessary to delve back into the past to introduce a man who has departed this world but who will forever be remembered in the Irish Travel Industry for his huge contribution to tourism throughout the land and beyond, to Britain, Europe and the USA over several decades.
The travel trade and Irish tourism lost one of its most successful and colorful characters when Joe O’Reilly passed away in 2007 at the age of 74.
But he has left a great legacy and it’s in the hands of son Bernard who today heads up Joe O’Reilly DMC (Destination Management Company), which is now in continuous operation, and thriving, for over 55 years.
In a description of Joe following his death, a tribute read: “Joe was a true pioneer of Irish Tourism. Having worked in the Car Hire business in both Ireland and the United States he came back to Ireland and formed his own company in 1966. He was the first ever DMC in Ireland, selling his wares at the time, mainly in the USA, United Kingdom and mainland Europe. He did this by attending international trade shows.
“Over time Joe developed brands in the following sectors: DMC, Car hire, Horse Drawn Caravans, International Horse Riding Academy, Travel Agencies and a Tour Operator. In 1998, Joe’s son Bernard bought out the DMC side of the business from the family and went on to develop the Joe O’Reilly Ireland DMC brand with offices in both Dublin and Cork, covering the Island of Ireland.”
Joe was pioneering his business at a difficult time when Ireland, in Europe, was somewhat confused with Iceland, and some even blamed our small country for the cold winds they said blew from Ireland over to Europe! It wasn’t much better in the following decades (70s and 80s) when the Northern Ireland “Troubles” was a constant barrier to the development of tourism.
It was against this background that people like Joe traversed the highways and byways, at times plowing very lonely furrows and in the process laying the foundations of what is now one of our most important and successful industries. Later on he contributed at a strategic level as chairman of the Cork/Kerry tourism region.
Leaving Cavan for the bright lights of Dublin and the car hire business, he quickly made his presence felt, both literally and metaphorically. With a loud hailer on the roof of his car blaring out the merits of his particular company, complaints of public nuisance were received by Garda authorities. He was eventually apprehended by one of those tall impressive Gardaí on point duty on O’Connell Bridge (traffic lights had not yet appeared). He quickly won him over, helped by the fact that they both came from the same neck of the woods – and thus began a 50-year friendship!
Joe O’Reilly will be known for his inspirational development of Horse Drawn Caravan tourism that developed from a niche product into a highly desirable one and it allowed tourists to explore the highways and byways of southern counties to get a real feel of the country.
And it began with an explosion of publicity in Paris. His innovative skills are best epitomised by his driving one of his horse-drawn caravans down the Champs Élysées in Paris, flanked by two gendarmes outriders. The event gained much sought after and invaluable publicity for Irish tourism because a photograph appeared the following morning on the front page of Le Monde, the prestigious French daily newspaper. At the time, Joe was the proud owner of 100 horses. How appropriate that he should in later years become a Knight in the equestrian order of Saint Sylvester.
In his younger days, his extracurricular activities were also of note, involving as they did the escorting of the sex goddess Jayne Mansfield around the lakes of Killarney, on one occasion acting as musical accompanist to Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, driving Gregory Peck around Dublin, and spending a night on the town with Dean Martin – not to mention various encounters with The Three Stooges.
To balance things out, and with an eye perhaps to his final journey, he also managed to have breakfast with Pope John Paul II in his private apartments.
And so on to this year, when Joe O’Reilly DMC expects to host up to 25,000 tourists from Britain, all over Europe, the USA and Canada, and even some from New Zealand and Australia as well.
The company ideally employs up to 30 people (they are currently advertising for travel professionals) and is today headed by son Bernard, who has built on the thriving business where the philosophy is “Flexible, Originality, Budget, Imagination and Creativity”!
This is a B to B operation (Business to Business) and success has been based on accommodating and working with groups from ten people to a couple of hundred if required. According to Bernard the word “No” does not exist in their vocabulary and even smaller groups can be catered for by dealing with travel companies in their country of origin, who mostly then link up with JOR to provide packages.
A huge part of the success in recent years has been dealing with the lucrative business of M.I.C.E (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions).
Bernard says his company is proud to deliver organization and event management services to the highest international standards.
“We design and manage unique programs for international guests. We craft special programs for incentive groups, corporate groups, and events.
“Just as a matter of interest, we have been delighted and hugely successful in offering and organising golf experiences with access to some of the world’s most scenic golf courses, 50 of the very best on offer throughout the world.
“Inevitably, a golf experience is tied up with a unique tourism experience and packages can be organized for all budgets up to and including the very best that Ireland can provide
“It’s home to over one-third of all links courses in the world. And with us, clients are in the care of people who have organized packages to many high profile events, including the Ryder Cup.
“And clients need not stop at golf. We offer the opportunity to build a trip around hundreds of authentic Irish experiences, including programs for non-golfers. With us you can take in the local pub, learn how to make an Irish coffee or enjoy private tours of breweries and museums, and more. Any special interest group involved in a wide range of activities are invited to pitch their ideas to organize programs and events in all areas of the country.”
FIT or flexible, independent travel, is another area of focus for the company. As already explained, singles and couples can be catered for, but emphasis is basically on groups of ten or more in order to give better value for money at whatever level of the market clients are interested in.
So, that side of the business is good for family and group celebrations, speciality tours for niche interests, luxury culinary experiences and adventure tourism, walking, hiking, sea or wind surfing along with just about any other type of activity or hobby that is of interest to clients.
Research on various packages available in an extensive company brochure and even in this era of climbing inflation throughout Europe and the world, prices look to be good value for money.
An example is an eight day guided tour, taking in delights of the Wild Atlantic Way and the cities of Dublin, Cork, Galway and towns in Kerry, inclusive of travel; accommodation and most meals runs at about $1,575 for ground package. air fares to be booked separately.
JOR DMC works with several independent travel agents throughout the world, but has a Sales Director in North America, Sean Reilly, who can be reached at (913) 706-0784 or emailed at sreilly@jorireland.com.