biography

Although he has never been professionally involved in sailing, Lynskey has always taken an active interest in the traditions and lifestyle of the Claddagh, and, as King of the Claddagh, has worked hard to try and keep them alive. An avid sailor, he owns a traditional Claddagh hooker, known as a gleoteog.

Lynskey emigrated to London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 in the 1950s but returned home ten years later with his wife Anne and four young children. His decision to return to Galway with his wife and young children was made, he said, one July evening as he was working in an overheated London. "I was driving down Oxford Street

Oxford Street

Oxford Street is a major thoroughfare in the City of Westminster in the West End of London, United Kingdom. It is Europe's busiest shopping street, as well as its most dense, and currently has approximately 300 shops. The street was formerly part of the London-Oxford road which began at Newgate,...

 on a hot July day, with traffic jams and fumes, and as I sat there leaning on the steering wheel I thought, 'What am I doing in this environment when I could be sailing a Claddagh boat in the fresh breeze of Galway Bay?'"

When sailing around Galway Bay

Galway Bay

Galway Bay is a large bay on the west coast of Ireland, between County Galway in the province of Connacht to the north and the Burren in County Clare in the province of Munster to the south. Galway city is located on the northeast side of the bay. It is about long and from to in breadth...

, he is usually accompanied by his crew, a diverse group French and Japanese students. While, he says, these are hard workers, he laments the fact that he has no Irish crew.

His son, Mike Jr., died at sea in 2007.

The tradition of King of the Claddagh was revived in 1998 after a gap of about fifteen years, following the death of Patrick Ladeen Curran

Patrick Ladeen Curran

Patrick Ladeen Curran was King of the Claddagh.-Biography:Curran had been born and raised in the Old Claddagh, prior to its demolition in the 1930s. He emigrated to Britain, and the U.S.A., where he met and married Kate Gannon of the Long Walk, Galway, on St. Stephen's Day 1930...

.

Reference

• Galway - A Maritine Tradition:Ships, boats and people, Brendan O'Donnell, Galway, 2001.

External links

• http://www.galwayindependent.com/making-waves/making-waves/me-and-the-sea-%11-mike-lynskey/