By Sean Moriarty

A travel agent who was responsible for bringing hundreds of thousands visitors to Ireland celebrated his retirement from the industry with a surprise party in Killeen House on Wednesday night.

Dubliner Brian Moore ran Brian Moore International Travel (BMIT) in Rhode Island for close to 40 years. His career in the travel industry goes back over 50 years, his first job in the US as a Shannon Travel rep in Boston before going out on his own.

One of his biggest contracts was bringing American football to Dublin. Back in 1989 BMIT was the sole travel agent for the Boston College v Army Black Knights game played in Lansdowne Road. BMIT brought 10,000 people to Ireland on that occasion and the majority of them included Killarney on their schedule.

Throughout his career his local affairs were handled by his sister Stella O’Shea from Rock Road. Coaches with the BMIT livery were a familiar sight on the roads of Kerry for decades.

“I handled all of his on the ground work, like meeting and greeting,” she told the Killarney Advertiser. “There was never a cross word between us.”

The formidable team always included both Galway and Killarney on their tours.

“He would say that "I made the promises and Stella kept them",” she added.

During his distinguished career he brought thousands of visitors to Kerry. His achievements included being inducted into the Order of Innisfallen in 2015. This award is presented to people from outside the locality who have made massive contributions to Killarney life.

He sold BMIT to a larger travel agency in 2000 but continued in the travel industry working for outfits like CIE International and Brendan Vacations.

Senior tourism figures organised a surprise retirement party for Brian at Killeen House this week. He thought he was accompanying 11 US visitors on an evening meal but when he arrived he was greeted by guests like Mayor of Killarney, Cllr Marie Moloney, and Niall Kelleher in his role as the President of Killarney Chamber of Commerce and Tourism.

“He rang me during the day just for a chat, it was very hard not to tell him what was going on but I couldn’t do it as it would have ruined it for everyone,” added Stella.