Gerry marks his Fyffes retirement

On Friday night I headed for the Windsor Bar to catch up with a very special retirement party taking place there. Gerry Cunningham Managing Director of Fyffes from Culhane Street was standing down after 33 years with the company. Starting off as a transport organiser, he successfully made his way to the top position where he remained until last week.

I wasn’t too long in the door when I met up with Gerry who told me he was now “living the dream” and already making the best of his free time. He said he had thoroughly enjoyed working for Fyffes, but it was now time for him to kick back and relax. Gerry wanted to wish all the best to the incoming MD Ciaran Sweeney who had taken over the mantle the previous week. He went on to say he is a collector of sports memorabilia and a huge Leeds United supporter and wasn’t looking forward to listening to Greg Tipping moan at the Monday night meetings in Peadars!

Gerry went on to tell me he was there with his delightful wife Elaine and son Kaylon and wanted a big shout out for other son Sean who couldn’t make it to the party because he is over in Disneyland, but assured me it was going to be an epic night of celebrations.

I then headed over for a chat with Kate Fox from Woodbury Gardens and Olive Cassidy from Inniskeen who were with the company for many years before they took their retirement and both agreed Gerry had been great to work with and their best boss ever and wanted to wish him all the best in his retirement.

Up near the bar I then got a word with Martin Nesbitt from Drogheda and Mario Dzavoronot originally from Slovakia but now in Swords and Martin said Gerry had a huge knowledge of the history of the company and was an excellent teacher and would be definitely missed.

Next I managed a quick word with Michelle McGahon from Castle Road who said she too had recently retired after 30 years with Fyffes and agreed he was fantastic to work down through the years and said they were definitely going to have a memorable night.

After this I met Fyffes UK MD John Muckian from Southampton who said Gerry would definitely be missed and was a real driving force for the company. He was chatting to Ireland MD Ciaran Sweeney from Knockbridge who said he’s been with the company for 13 years and wanted to compliment Gerry on his great work saying he never had a cross word for anyone, was loved by his staff and had left a very happy group of workers. He is also looking forward to the future challenges.

I made my way over to Suvi Helenics originally from Finland but now living in Oaklawns who has been with the company for nine years who said Gerry always had great support for his staff, they could go to him with literally any problem and he’d always make time to help out.

Suvi was chatting to Eoghan Colgan originally from Dublin but now in Blackrock who has only been with the company over two years and found Gerry one of the most enthusiastic men he’d met, always ready to get involved in any project and will definitely be missed.

After this I caught up with Simon Hopkins originally from Yorkshire but now living in Donabate who has been with the company for 27 years who said Gerry is a really great guy, very passionate about his work and his staff. It was just a pity he supported Leeds and wanted Gerry to know there’s really only one team in Yorkshire and that is Sheffield Wednesday!

I then headed over for a word with Yin Sun originally from England but now living in Donabate with husband Simon. Yin said she has been with Fyffes for 17 years now and said Gerry only really had two rules of business rule 1: ‘give Ireland what Ireland wants’ and rule 2: ‘revert to rule 1’. She went on to say Gerry has a huge enthusiasm for his work and this could be seen when he first went over to negotiate in China which didn’t faze him is the slightest.

Not too far away I then met up with Aine McElroy from Castleblaney who said Gerry would definitely be missed for all his great work and his slagging prowess where he wasn’t afraid to get stuck in with the best of them.

Making my way through the crowds I next had the pleasure of meeting up with Elizabeth Pierce from Dublin who has been with the company since 2018 and agreed Gerry is a lovely man who was always on hand to provide support down the years whenever needed and has left a very impressive pair of boots to fill.

Next I caught up with Alfonso Ricotta originally from Belgium but now Malahide who said Gerry has a wealth of experience and is always on hand to help out with his knowledge and will definitely be missed.

After this I met Varsha Alharya originally from India now Drogheda who said even though she has only been there since 2020, she has found Gerry to be a lovely boss and hugely enthusiastic to help all the staff when he can.

Also in Varsha’s company was Yue Hu originally from China now Clontarf who said she has really enjoyed working with Gerry and wanted to wish him a very happy and eventful retirement.

Next I got talking to Aine Hande (work), Matthews from Dromiskin who was delighted to be there on the night. Aine is currently on maternity leave after giving birth to daughter Croía six weeks ago. She said not to forget to give a mention to son Bréndán too. She said Gerry will definitely be missed for all his great slagging and his undying support for Dundalk FC and to thank him for taking them all to the European matches when Fyffes were sponsoring the club.

I then headed over for a chat with Edel O’Reilly from Malahide and Marianne Lawlor from Kilkenny who told me they loved the fact that Gerry always had great anecdotes, stories and the odd parable to put everyone at their ease and is a great people person.

Beside them I then got a word with Gemma Power from Rush who said Gerry always had a happy disposition and it really helped when the going got tough.

Finally, before I departed, I headed over to Caoimhe Buckley from Dublin and Adele Carroll from Blackrock who said Gerry had made sure they were very happy years working with Fyffes. They went on to say he knew how to bring in football rivalry into meetings just to lighten the mood. But he should also be recognised for the exceptional work during Hurricane Mitch back in 1998 where many of the Central American countries Fyffes bought their produce from were completely devastated. Gerry organised the filling of returning empty fruit containers with medical supplies and aid for the people affected by the disaster.