Dunrovin Launch Day June 25th 2022

IWAI HQ Dunrovin Official Opening

Saturday June 25^th marked International Day of the Seafarer. It is very fitting that this date also marked the official opening of IWAI HQ Dunrovin. While the weather was not wonderful it did remain largely dry for this most significant event in IWAI’s history. The official opening of IWAI HQ Dunrovin finally fulfils the wishes of Cynthia Rice who bequeathed the Dunrovin property and site to IWAI Athlone in 1997. Now, 25 years later, Dunrovin has been reborn in partnership with the RNLI resulting in a state-of-the-art permanent lifeboat station for RNLI alongside IWAI’s new HQ building.

At 11am a crowd of nearly 100 people gathered indoors and out to celebrate the official opening of IWAI HQ Dunrovin in its spiritual home. Numbered among the guests were no fewer than 10 IWAI Past Presidents whose terms of office dated all the way back to 1984. We were honoured to hear a presentation from Peter Williams and his sister Geraldine, the grandchildren of Harry Rice. Peter and Geraldine spoke of Harry, his first wife Peggy and second wife Cynthia and shared a very personal view of the family whose legacy stands proud today on the site of their former summer home. In a special moment, the inscribed stone which Harry and Peggy placed in the garden of Dunrovin in 1948 was presented.

The official duties continued with words from Martin Donnelly the chair of the Dunrovin Development Committee and a speech from IWAI President Kay Baxter. Following the speeches, Kay Baxter along with Past Presidents Alan Kelly, John Dolan, and Carmel Meegan (whose terms of office covered the Dunrovin development project) cut the ribbon and declared IWAI HQ Dunrovin officially open. The final duty was to hoist the IWAI flag, marking a very permanent and visible presence for IWAI in its new home on the site where it all began in 1954.

Image’s Link to official IWAI Album on Flickr , click any image to go to Album