SIMI Awards hosted in Dublin
The SIMI (Society of the Irish Motor Industry) held its 65th Annual Dinner at the Clayton Hotel in Dublin last night where SIMI President Gavin Hydes welcomed over 700 senior Motor Industry figures and guests in attendance.
The highlight of the event was the announcement of the SIMI Irish Motor Industry Awards in partnership with sponsor Bank of Ireland Finance. The awards, in this their eight year, were announced by presenter Oliver Callan.
Open to all sectors of the Irish Motor Industry, eight Award Categories in total were presented by Brian Cooke deputy director General of the Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI) and Derek McDermott, managing director of Bank of Ireland Finance, the event sponsors.
A special recognition award, in conjunction with the Road Safety Authority, was presented to Philip Skelton for his work on the ‘Stayin Alive at 1.5 campaign’ in which he worked to include both cyclists and motorists in order to highlight the vulnerability of cyclists and the importance of motorists keeping a safe distance when overtaking them.
Prior to the awards announcement, SIMI president Gavin Hydes addressed the large attendance remarking that the night was a celebration of the Motor Industry. ‘An Industry that has collected €1.49bn from car sales and around €5bn in all motoring taxes last year. An Industry that employs over 42,000 people throughout Ireland and despite the current Brexit-driven challenges faced by our Sector, ours is an Industry that endeavours to excel in the services that we provide to our customers.’
