Blessed with a great and close family. Supportive parents and siblings who are friends also. Karen(33), Kevin (30) and Aidan (24). My parents are actually quite young. Mum is 55 and Dad 59. It was great to have younger parents growing up as they could relate more to you growing up. Both were also fairly sporty, Dad more so. He and I completed The Hague half marathon in 2009. Dad finished in just under two hours (and claimed he hadn’t trained much). Luckily for me otherwise it would have been a closer call.

My sister and brother-in-law extended the family with the recent arrival of Daniel (2.5) and Jack (9 months). The first of the grandkids. Smashing two nephews.

I was born and grew up in Dublin. On the north side, which, per city rivalry is less salubrious than the south, but of course that is bollicks! I have fond memories of school and growing up in suburbia. Naturally with a young family of four in 1980’s Dublin, money was tight but we never wanted for anything and I feel privileged to had a happy and loving childhood. Thanks Mum and Dad.

In these old family photos my Mum and Dad are younger than I am today and had a four kids and a mortgage. How the generations (and clothes) change.

Mum, Al, Karen + cousin while we lived in NYC for two years

Watching TV at home (not my teddy bear btw)

Halloween. I am the Dark Crusader.

My Friends

Fortunate to have a large group of close mates from different backgrounds, countries and careers.

The College Crew from Dublin. Mates since year one.

Paul and Joanne’s wedding.

The Amsterdam Crew.

Living away from home it was great to have a group very good mates. The Dutch crew was extended by the frequent visitors from Europe and USA. Bruthda’s and sisters with different mothers.

The farewell pub craw of all our haunts from 2001-2010, two weeks before I left The Netherlands.

The full Dutch crew on tour. Fete du Lac 2009, Annecy, France. The Hogland’s host a party on their property which overlooks the lake.

At Sean and Sara’s wedding. NYC 2008. Al, Welmoed, Stephen and Peter.

My Job

Worked for KPMG in Dublin prior to joining TNT Logistics, in The Netherlands, in 2001. The business was subsequently rebranded CEVA Logistics in December 2006 following its acquisition by Apollo Management. I stayed with the company for nine years before deciding to take a career break. I joined as an internal auditor before leaving as Finance Director of a large operating unit. I stayed with CEVA for almost a decade as it offered the ingredients we all look for in a job: interesting underlying business, friendly yet driven colleagues, career advancement and many corporate changes which kept life interesting. Always enjoyed working in finance and passionate about my work; in fact everything I do.

Afterwork

While I’ve worked hard over the years I’ve balanced it with sport and having fun. Sports include numerous official runs (The Hague half marathon, Dam to Dam Loop, The Ropa Run (Paris to Rotterdam). This year I completed my first Olympic triathlon (Oud Gastel, Netherlands), time 2h34m!

During the weekend I normally hang out in my regular watering holes in Amsterdam (De Kroone, Werck, The Tara, Escape (best club in the City). I go to a lot of live music – Bruce Springsten, Rolling Stones, Snoop Dogg, Madonna, Stevie Wonder, James Brown, Green Day etc, DJ’s (all those mentioned in my CD section).Travelled a lot both personal and for work. Been to most countries and major cities in Europe more than once, east coast of the States, Brazil, Argentina, Panama, Guatemala, Colombia, Australia and Thailand. When I decided to take the trip I choose the route based on the places I haven’t seen and most motorbike friendly. Must travel more in Asia in the future but one trip at a time

Friday night, getting ready to hit the town

Pints with my mate Jan in Zurich (2010). We only went to the Irish Pub as it was 6 Nations time of the year. Honestly it wasn’t about the Guinness

Boat trip for my farewell party in Amsterdam

I meet Lawrence Dallaglio in Space Ibiza 2009. Nice guy and his mother is from Mayo (Ireland)

Rockit Open Air concert – Iris and Dana