Abbey man is chairman of Book Awards

JOHN Treacy, a native of Abbeyknockmoy, is the new chairman of the Bord Gais Irish Book Awards (BGIBA). John was appointed to the Board of Directors of the BGIBA in 2008.The Bord Gais Irish Book Awards is the only Literary Award that involves all aspects of Book participation in Ireland. It involves bookshops, publishers, librarians, book wholesalers and authors.Bord Gais who are the headline sponsors are supported by a number of individual award sponsors such as Dublin Airport Authority, International Education Services, Eason's, Hughes and Hughes, Argosy, Energise Sport, Ireland Am and the RTE John Murray Show Listeners' Choice.John Treacy, who left Abbeyknockmoy in 1957 at the age of 16 years is Managing Director of International Education Services, a company he founded with his wife Caroline in 1974. John started his career in the Traveller's Friend Hotel in Castlebar and while there he was the founding member of St Patrick's Hurling Club. Shortly afterwards he invited the Abbeyknockmoy team to Castlebar for a challenge match. They were of course beaten by this great Abbey junior team which was spearheaded by great players such as Ted Dolly (RIP), Malachy  Dolly, Jack Kavanagh (RIP), Peter and Paul McQualter and Sean O'Donohoe.John then worked for a period in the Oslo Hotel in Salthill before moving to the Gresham Hotel in Dublin in the early sixties.During his stint at the Gresham he had the pleasure of serving such luminaries as Richard Burton, Elizabeth Taylor, Bing Crosby, Kim Novak, George Peppard, The Beatles and many more.Having spent nine years in the hotel business he decided to move to the book trade working as a publisher's representative for a number of years before establishing International Education Services in February 1974.John is a keen sportsman and a fanatical follower of Galway Hurling. Down through the years he played for a number of teams including Colmcille's in Dublin and Leixlip Co Kildare where he won a county championship and county league medal in 1978.John was Secretary of St Mary's Hurling Club, Leixlip, for many years and was hurling clubman of the year in 1983.In latter years he has turned his hand to golf and was captain of the K Club in 2008.John has one son Jonathan and two granddaughters. He lives with his wife Caroline in Straffan, Co Kildare.