A nation is in mourning this morning following the death of Ronnie Delany (1935-2026), iconic Olympic hero but also an important player in the world of travel and tourism.
His career over at the age of 27, shortly after his gold medal at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics, Ronnie Delany became the face of Ireland’s ferry services for several decades.
Ronnie Delany initially worked with Aer Lingus in the United States after his athletics career ends.
He joined B+I Line (British and Irish Steam Packet Company) and serves almost 20 years as Assistant Chief Executive with responsibility for marketing and operations of the Irish ferry company based in Dublin.
In this role he acted as a prominent figurehead for the company including involvement in promotional activities such as the launch and promotion of the jetfoil service which introduces high speed hydrofoil passenger ferries on Irish Sea routes in the late 1970s and 1980s.
The jetfoil project modernised ferry travel between Ireland and Britain with faster crossings and Delany helped promote it to boost passenger numbers. Sadly it became a victim of the unforgiving Irish Sea weather and the project was shelved due of the high number of cancellations.
After leaving B+I Line in the 1990s Delany establishes his own successful marketing and sports consultancy business in 1998.
