Luke O'Reilly

Alpine skier Luke O´Reilly was born in Liverpool, raised near Manchester, and spent most of his life in the United States, where he died on his 69th birthday in 2017. When he was aged seven, O´Reilly went to Switzerland to recuperate from bronchial pneumonia and, as part of his therapy, took up skiing. By the time he was ten he was showing promise as a talented skier. He won the Scottish Junior Championship at the age of 14 in 1963 and retained over the next two years.

O´Reilly´s sporting talents did not end at skiing. He was also a fine rugby player and played for the Manchester “B” team. He also developed a talent for water skiing and was the 1964 British junior slalom champion. O´Reilly went to the 1968 Grenoble Winter Olympics and appeared in the slalom, downhill, and giant slalom. A few months after the Games he won the British water-skiing title as he became the first Briton to gain international honours in both sports. Shortly after the Olympics, O´Reilly had the tough decision to decide whether he continued his further education in the UK or the United States. He chose the latter and went to Dartmouth College, New Hampshire, from where he graduated in 1971.

Moving to the States saw O´Reilly engage in a new career far removed from skiing on either ice or water, as he became a radio DJ at WMMR in Philadelphia. That change of direction ultimately led him to getting into the business of music management and over the years he had the likes of Al Stewart (“Year of the Cat”), The Chieftains, and The Fixx, under his wing. O´Reilly also launched a successful software company and had a download and streaming company several years before his rivals. He also had a property development and real estate company with his wife. O´Reilly, who enjoyed watching the Tour de France, was an aeroplane fanatic and owned a Tiger Moth in the 1970s, and subsequently became a qualified flying instructor.