The family-owned-and-operated coach company Donoghues of Galway was awarded the prize for Coach Operator of the Year 2013/2014 in the Tours category at the Fleet Bus & Coach Awards.
Joe Donoghue, the owner and manager of Donoghues of Galway, which was started in 1966 by his father, said that he was especially proud to receive the award as the company was “up against some big contenders. We were the small fry in the category.”
He credited Donoghues of Galway’s success to its “personal touch”, its culture of diligence, and to its bespoke tours that showcase the hidden Ireland as well as popular, established destinations such as Connemara, the Cliffs of Moher and the Ring of Kerry.
Mr Donoghue, who has over twenty years of first-hand experience as a coach driver under his belt, was presented the award by the guest of honour, John O’Mahony, TD. Chairman of the Oireachtas Committee on Transport.
The Fleet Bus & Coach Awards is a biennial event organised by Fleet Publications, the largest publisher of transport-orientated magazines in Ireland.
The awards are intended to honour operators and coach manufacturers working within the Irish Passenger Transport Industry.The Fleet Bus & Coach Awards 2014 Show was shown last weej on Sky Channel 192 and FreeSat.
The hour-long broadcast brought the awards ceremony as well as interviews with prize winners and organisers to a potential audience of almost 14 million people in Ireland and the U.K.
Donoghues of Galway boasts a versatile fleet of four-and five-star Failte Ireland-approved buses. The company’s operations include tours, private and corporate bus/coach hire, and a chauffeured limousine service. The company has operated out of the Galway area for all of its forty-seven years in the passenger transport industry. It is currently based in Taramuid, near Clarinbridge.
Pictured with Joe Donoghue of Donoghues of Galway are John Dunne, JF Dunne Insurances (title sponsors ), Sean Murtagh, Fleet Bus & Coach magazine and Louise Duffy Today FM, award ceremony host.
