Member Stories
Neptune
Neptune
Fleet Development
The Oglesby family have been involved in the fishing industry for over 60 years. The family business was started by the late John Oglesby, Owey Island and Kincasslagh, who began fishing as a teenager with his father Andy on a currach and then a yawl.
In 1966 John and his wife, Eileen, went to work in Birmingham to earn the deposit for their first boat, the half decker the Ocean Queen, which they had built in Mevagh boatyard in Downings. In 1973 the Ocean Queen was replaced by the Jemaleen, built in the BIM shipyard in Killybegs. The first Neptune, a steel hull vessel, was commissioned by John and built in Cobh in 1980. The Neptune pair-trawled with its sister vessel, John Gallagher’s Golden Rose, and it was with these vessels and the development of the Irish RSW fleet that the Irish track record and resulting quota shares for Mackerel, Horse Mackerel, Blue whiting and Herring were established. Both vessels were lengthened in 1987 and fished successful together for many years.
Family Legacy
John’s son and current skipper, Martin, started fishing with his uncle, Dan Gallagher, as a teenager and joined the crew of the Neptune in 1987. However, Martin’s time fishing with his father was cut short as John tragically died on board the Neptune on the 12th of February 1988. Eileen kept the family business going after John’s death and in 1989 Martin completed his skipper’s ticket at the National Fisheries College in Greencastle. Together they made the decision to further invest in the future of the family business and to build a replacement for the first Neptune in 1998 and built the latest Neptune in 2003. Over the years the Neptune moved to pair-trawling with the Western Endeavour and more recently with the Áine.
Generational Commitment
These days there are eleven crew members on board the vessel, many of whom have been with the company since the early 80’s. One of the crew James McGonagle also fished with John on the Jemaleen and he is the longest serving crew member with 50 years under his belt. Martin has also been joined on board by his son, John, who is following the family tradition in the fishing industry and is currently upgrading his certificates with his intent to get his skippers ticket.
John’s daughter, Annette, is the business manager and has been involved in the business for nearly 30 years. Her husband Owenie has been the Engineer on board the vessel since 1988 and their daughters are also involved in the company.
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