Sailing Saint Barbara
The Crew
The Crew of Naomh Barbara:
Steve Mulkerrins
Maumeen, Lettmore, Co. Galway
steve@sailingsaintbarbara.com
Patrick Joyce (skipper)
Inis Mor, Aran Islands, Co. Galway
pat@sailingsaintbarbara.com
Tom Joyce (RIP)
Inis Mor, Aran Islands, Co. Galway
tom@sailingsaintbarbara.com
Barney Flaherty
Tra Bhain, Lettmore, Co. Galway
barney@sailingsaintbarbara.com
Coley Newell
Kilcolgan, Co. Galway
coley@sailingsaintbarbara.com
"The Irish have been sailing west to America long enough. Now that we are able to, it's time a few of us made the journey east," says Patrick Joyce, skipper of the St. Barbara, when pressed about why he plans to make the treacherous journey across the North Atlantic next summer. No sooner has he delivered this observation, than he shrugs it off, cracks a joke and reignites his signature cigar with a wink. Pat, a native of the Aran Islands off the coast of County Galway, Ireland, is no stranger to rough seas. The sea was the backbone of the economy for the 1800 inhabitants of the three Irish speaking islands. Pat's ancestors fished. His grandfather and uncle died at sea, as did, eventually, too many of his peers from grammar school. His father taught Pat and his five brothers to fish. Today, having left Ireland some 19 years ago to start a life in Chicago, Pat has never left the water for long. He has sailed since he arrived here, using his first earnings from humble beginnings to buy a second hand sailboat. As his plumbing business gained success (he jokes that he chose plumbing to stay near the water) Pat upgraded his boats and spent more and more time sailing.