This article is from page 10 of the 2014-05-20 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 10 JPG
WATER safety officer Liam Griffin has retired from Clare County Council after more than four decades service.
Last summer the Ennis man led the campaign for people to stay safe in Clare waters during one of the warm- est spell in almost a decade.
As well as over seeing water safety in the county’s public bathing areas, Mr Griffin was also charged with responsibility for the Civil Defence.
The proud Eire Óg man joined Clare County Council on July 16, 1973, as an assistant civil defence officer.
He served in this role until 1996, when he was appointed Civil Defence Officer and Water Safety Development Officer.
Retiring “a few years early” to make the most of his retirement years, Mr Griffin said he was looking forward to the freedom of not being governed by the clock and the freedom to travel more, even at short notice.
First on his itinerary is a trip to America with his wife Marie at the end of the year.
“I have been most places in the world except America, so the trip is planned,” he said.
He is also looking forward to spending time with his family – daughters Sinead and Eimear, son John and his fiancé Jenny, and son-in-law Aidan – as well as his grandchildren, the fourth of which is due to make their way into the world any day.
Asked if he will miss the job, the father of three said, “I have made a huge amount of friends and friendships through the years, but those will be friends for life.”
The Mayor Joe Arkins (FG) and county manager Tom Coughlan led tributes to Liam for his outstanding work in the area of civil defence and water safety over 41 years.