John McNamee’s funeral took place today in PortLaoise in the presence of a considerable crowd.
EIBF was represented by Françoise Dubruille, Director, and Tim Godfray, CEO of the Booksellers Association of the UK & Ireland, and Member of the EIBF Executive Committee.
John was born in County Armagh, Northern Ireland, and moved to the Republic of Ireland early on in his career. He opened his first bookshop in Portlaoise, Laois Educational Supplies, in 1986 and a branch in Newbridge in 1988.
John won the admiration and respect of everyone with whom he worked. He was an indefatigable champion of bookselling and the promotion of reading.
In 1992 he joined the Irish Branch as a committee member and subsequently served as Secretary and Chairman of the branch. Between 2001 and 2003 he was the Irish co-ordinator of World Book Day activities and maintained his involvement in World Book Day in the years that followed.
He worked with Irish publishers on many children’s book festivals and ran a very successful children’s festival in County Laois for more than 6 years. He was involved in the launch of the “Buy a book for your local hospital” national campaign.
He was a member of the Council of the Booksellers Association of the UK & Ireland between 2002 and 2011.
John was elected President of the Laois Chamber of Commerce in 2005-2006 and in 2008, he opened the Eason bookshop in Portlaoise.
His European career took off in 2004, when he very successfully organised the memorable joint EBF-IBF conference in Killarney. He was then elected President of the European Booksellers Federation in 2005, a
position that he held until April 2014. As president of the EBF, John never spared his energy in promoting the interests of booksellers and championing the role of the bookshop in the local community. He made representations on behalf of the bookselling community in many European countries and beyond, including the US and Australia. John McNamee will be remembered as a dedicated bookseller and dynamic advocate of the bookselling trade.
He was someone who was determined to make a difference and who inspired his colleagues with his
professionalism and enthusiasm.
EIBF director Françoise Dubruille said:
John McNamee led with passion, energy, and infectious commitment. He is a great loss to our industry. I have received hundreds of e-mails and phone calls in the last two days expressing the sadness and sympathy felt by so many who worked with him over the years. These messages are greatly appreciated by the bookselling community and we hope that they will bring some consolation to his family. Everybody misses a valued colleague and a good friend. We will cherish his memory and, in the sorrow of his passing, we take solace in recognising the contribution that he made to the business that he loved