Eddie Nolan, who died on his 73rd birthday, was the longest serving national managing director of the Ford Motor Company in Europe and the driving force behind its deep involvement with Ireland's biggest sailing event.
The story goes that it was over a pint in Kitty Newman's pub near the pier in Schull that Nolan, a social sailor, conceived the idea of Ford taking on the former Heineken sponsorship of the annual regatta at the Royal Cork Yacht Club in Crosshaven, the world's oldest yacht club.
Boosted by Ford’s financial input, the event flourished, attracting more than 500 boats for the annual week-long sailing festival, pumping money into local pubs and guest houses, and building Ireland’s image as a global sailing venue. In recognition of the company’s impact on its fortunes, he was made an honorary life member of the club.
Blessed with a lively sense of humour, he was the best of company. A popular figure in the motor trade and well-liked in Schull, where he died at the family’s holiday home, he was known for his generous support of local causes, including St Luke’s Home in Cork.
“If you wanted money for a marina or some other facility, all you had to do was ask Eddie for support and he’d get out his cheque book,” said a sailing friend.
Born in Buttevant, he joined Ford in 1958 following education at Presentation College, Cork. With a flair for management, he went on to hold senior positions in marketing research, the tractor division, and was also general sales manager. In the course of his career, he held assignments at Ford's European tractor headquarters in Belgium and worked with the company in Switzerland and the UK before returning to the automotive division in Cork.
After witnessing the emotional impact on the city when the Ford plant closed in 1984, a heavy blow to the region, Nolan recognised the importance of retaining its headquarters in Cork where 68 years earlier Henry Ford jnr had built the Ford Tractor Works. The company’s first plant outside the US was to provide thousands of skilled jobs and produce tens of thousands of cars and tractors on Ireland’s first mass production assembly line.
When it finally shut down, the company’s impetus shifted under Nolan’s direction, concentrating on the business of car and commercial sales. In 1987, he became managing director of Ford in Ireland. After 42 years with the company, he retired in 2001, a record sales year for the company in the Irish market.
He is survived by his wife Cintra, daughter Helen, and sons Michael, John and Peter.