By Ryan Sands
A farewell gathering for outgoing Mourne Heritage Trust chief executive Martin Carey was held in Newcastle Community Cinema on Friday.
A large number of colleagues, past and present, as well as representatives from other organisations, attended the event to mark and celebrate the contribution the Dundrum man has made to the Mournes since taking up the role in 2006.
As a parting gift and a token of appreciation for almost two decades of service, Mr Carey was presented with a bespoke glass artwork — created by Gartex Art — depicting Dundrum Castle and the Mourne Mountains.
Addressing the gathering, the chief executive said he was usually “happy standing in front of a group and talking about the Trust, and bigging up our work and appealing for funding,” but was “not mad keen when it is about me.”
“Rather than focus on me, I thought it might be useful to share a few reflections on the work of the Trust,” he began. “Just to start with a personal note, whoever thought of the gift is fantastic. I grew up beside that castle in Dundrum, having initially grown up by the quay. That was my playground along with Murlough and the quay, the castle and the GAA pitch in Dundrum. So, when the job in the Mourne Heritage Trust came up, it was that deep attachment and that sense of place that really attracted me to it.”
Reflecting on his time leading the organisation, Mr Carey noted that over the years it had evolved “from an organisation that very much was about the place in its entirety — the Mourne AONB, the built, cultural and natural heritage — to very much becoming more an environmental management body and a facilities management body, because that’s the way our funders wanted us to go.”
“Something going forward that I’d like to see,” he continued, “is if the Trust could get back to that more holistic approach where we are looking at all three strands, because that is what attracted me to it in the early days.”
“I’ve realised in the last few years in particular that it has been a tough enough job over time, but it has also been a massive privilege. So, thanks to my colleagues, because the feedback on the work done has been almost universally positive — and that is saying a lot when you have so many stakeholders to keep happy, people who are passionate about the place.”
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