Paul Moynihan – a naturist life

We are sorry to announce the death of Paul Moynihan, former President of the INA. Paul joined the INA, with his wife Barbara and young children, in the 1970s. The INA was a very different organization then. It was closed and very secretive. Applicants were interviewed in person by the Committee. Surnames were not disclosed and any form of publicity or attracting attention was frowned upon. Members met in each others houses (one member had an outdoor pool) and on occasional outings to the beach at Sallymount near Brittas Bay. On one occasion Paul received an official reprimand from the Committee because he left the shelter of the sand dunes on and walked nude down to the sea! In the 1980s Paul became President and Barbara became Membership Secretary. Around this time Paul, along with some other forward thinking members like Pat & Mary Gallagher, became one of the founder members of Club Aquarius, named after Barbara’s birth sign. Paul’s antique shop in Francis Street became the public office of the INA. He sold copies of the INF World Naturist Guide and other publications. He was a man of conviction. He shocked local people by openly displaying naturist magazines in his shop window and refused to remove them despite many complaints, visits from the Gardaí and threats of prosecution. He organised the first (and so far only) naturist holiday fair in Dublin when the organisers of the Holiday Fair in the RDS refused his request to have an INA stand there. He gave many interviews to radio and newspapers and took part in a documentary about naturism shown on RTE television. In 1986 he arranged for the first ever meeting in Ireland of the International Naturist Federation. It would be almost 30 years before the INF came back to Ireland in 2014 and it was fitting that Paul and Barbara were able to be there. . Paul was open and friendly and made a huge contribution to advancing the cause of naturism in Ireland. He will be sadly missed by Barbara, his children Cerri and Conor, his grandchildren and by his many friends in the INA. May he rest in peace.