Sailor and computer scientist who was irresistibly drawn back to Donegal

A sailor, computer scientist, lecturer and scuba diver who was irresistibly drawn back to settle in his adoptive Donegal, Liam Miller died suddenly at the age of 54. He wrote, on the death of friend and fellow yachtsman Wallace Clarke, that "…the sea will be unreasonably emptier than it should be" not knowing that in a short time it would be emptier still.

Born in Newport, Rhode Island, in 1959, his father, Vining Stiles Miller (Mike), was a radioman in the US Navy stationed at its communications station in Derry in the 1950s when he met Liam’s mother, Bridget Moira. They married, returning to the US following the birth of older brother Michael.

The family travelled widely in the 1960s, including living in Cuba where his father taught him to sail at the age of five, developing a lifelong passion. While a teenager they lived in Iceland, before returning to Derry and finally to a farm near Gweebarra Bay, Co Donegal.

His paternal great grandfather was a newspaper man in Florida and Tennessee, his great grandmother, a Cherokee, while a grandmother was an accomplished 1930s aviator. His Irish ancestors were all seafarers, the Boyles and Sharkeys of Inishowen and Co Derry.

He finished secondary school at St MacNissi’s College on the Antrim coast and at High Wycombe High School, Buckinghamshire, returning to the US to join the navy. He served for four years with the Sixth Fleet in the Mediterranean and ashore lived in Gaeta, becoming fluent in Italian and a connoisseur of Italian cuisine, wine and culture.

Return to Ireland
On his return to Ireland he met his wife, Moira, and he took a degree in computer science at the University of Ulster. While a student, he bought his first yacht, a Dragon, which he converted to a weekend cruiser at the Coal Quay in Dún Laoghaire.

Miller worked in The Irish Times' computer department during the 1980s and early 1990s, playing a prominent role in the transition to digital production.

In 1995, Donegal drew Liam and Moira back to the northwest where they renovated an old school property.

Having completed a master's in computer science at University of Limerick he would lecture for 15 years in Letterkenny IT.

His developing fascination with scuba led him to Burtonport and the creation of an aqua tourism business offering diving, angling and Donegal island tours.

In 2008 he and diving buddies discovered two shipwrecks off Rutland Island, Donegal, both since under investigation by the the National Monuments Service and which have yielded many artefacts.

The couple restored a traditional cottage on the island of Inishfree which he loved.

In the last 20 years both, with family and friends, cruised extensively, covering thousands of miles around Ireland, England, the Scottish Isles, the Baltic, the North Sea, the Atlantic coasts of France and Spain, and the Mediterranean. In 2013, Miller skippered Manutara, his ocean-going Ohlson, from Burtonport through the Hebrides and on to the Faeroes before circumnavigating Iceland and returning to Burtonport.

He is survived by his wife Moira, mother Bridget Moira, brother Michael and a wide circle of family and friends.