IRELAND. It is with deep regret that we report the passing of David Hope, a pioneer of duty free and a key figure in the early expansion of Irish state-owned airports group Aer Rianta into new territories.
Our sympathies go to his wife Margaret, sons Tony and David, daughter Suzanne, grandchildren Lauren, Amy and Zack, brothers and sisters and other relatives and friends.
The hugely popular and highly respected Hope fulfilled many key roles for Aer Rianta (and its retail division ARI) and is perhaps best known as the first General Manager of Moscow Duty Free (1988). We devoted a chapter to his career in a 2007 book, The World Rovers, which chronicled the Irish influence on travel retail.
Having joined the Shannon Sales & Catering Organisation created by duty free’s founding father Dr. Brendan O’Regan in 1969, Hope began corporate life overseeing the computerisation of the shopping and catering division. He later managed the same systems at group level once Aer Rianta was created to oversee Dublin, Cork and Shannon airports. It was this role, indirectly, that took him to Dubai as part of the now legendary group of ten Aer Rianta staff hired to open Dubai Airport’s first duty free shop in 1983. (Another of that team, Colm McLoughlin, continues to head Dubai Duty Free as Executive Vice Chairman and CEO.)
Slán abhaile David Hope |
Having returned from Dubai to become Sales Manager at Shannon Duty Free under Shannon Airport Director Liam Skelly, Hope later took on another overseas assignment in 1987: this time as Project Manager (and later General Manager) in Moscow. (The World Rovers book outlines the fascinating story of his time there.)
After Moscow Hope returned to Ireland to head the Purchasing & Distribution function for the fledgling ARI group. In the early 1990s this served Russia and soon the Middle East as business expanded.
After leaving ARI in the mid-1990s Hope became involved in various ventures, many of them duty free-related, including brokering the supply of products into new markets.
With his family and many friends, we mourn David Hope’s passing. RIP.
Funeral details: Removal Wednesday evening at 6pm to Mary Immaculate Church, Shannon. Funeral Mass Thursday at 11am. Burial immediately afterwards in Illaunamanagh Cemetery. Family flowers only; donations if desired to The Irish Heart Foundation.
