A Message from Don: Honouring Mark Ireland

This was heartbreaking and very sad news. Condolences and strength to Mark's family and other loved ones and to this entire community.

This is very sad news.
I enjoyed his articles, like "What's Up Wednesday." I remember his enthusiasm during relaxed online meetings during the pandemic, and the clear way Mark made difficult FME topics easy in his YouTube videos. And of course, the inimitable way he organized "12 Days of FME."

Condolences and strength to Mark's family and other loved ones, to his colleagues at Safe Software, and to the FME Community.

Mark will be greatly missed.

Mark will be missed and remembered. His positivity, creativity, and kindness helped build a warm and supportive community.

I am very sad to hear of Marks passing. He was such a great and enthusiastic spokesperson for everything interesting and wild that could be done with FME. He irrevocably put his own stamp on the 12 days of FME events and I think he will be remembered by many people for the fun he brought to them. 

My condolences to his family, his colleagues and his friends. 

I’m very sorry to hear this, condoleances.

It is with great sadness that I learned of Mark’s passing. He was a leading figure in fostering community and culture, and his legacy will live on through the people he inspired.

I’ll miss you Mark! You made me laugh so many times! I was so proud when you told me that my process rocked when you were doing the Christmas contest 10 years ago. FME would not be so good without you. I’ll think about you using MarkIrelandConnector.

I’m sorry to hear of this. I had the opportunity to meet Mark a few times, and he was always so kind and loved to talk about exciting new ways to use FME. I loved how he interacted with the community! He will be greatly missed.

Sad news indeed. My deepest condoleances to his family, colleagues and the FME community. He will be missed!

To add to my response to Don’s post on LinkedIn, Mark was FME.  The number of people here who have been impacted by his work and engaged with his training, problem-solving, games and all manner of things over two decades is a testament to that.  I wish we could have had him visit down here in NZ but it always felt like he was connected to what we were doing.

I suggest that at the right time - this is of course very raw to all at Safe and in this community - we set up some kind of tribute in this community as a very small but lasting tribute to Mark and his legacy.  Perhaps the ‘Mark Ireland Award’ for long and generous service to the FME community.

Such sad news. Whenever a process had me scratching my head wondering how can I deliver that in FME, one of my first thoughts was normally ‘I bet Mark has a post that would help’. Imagine many others had a similar process.

Very sad news indeed, Mark will be greatly missed.

I am deeply saddened by the sad news.

Mark Ireland was my first assessor for my FME certifications, and that alone makes his loss feel profoundly personal to me.

He had a rare gift for seeing what was possible before the rest of us did—and then challenging us to go further than we ever thought we could.

My first meeting with him in person was during the FME UC 2006, FME Idol as a judge, making the participants nervous!

He will always be remembered by the FME community for pushing the limits of what FME could do.

Through his FME Hackathons and the unforgettable 12 Days of FME Challenge, he inspired creativity, curiosity, and confidence in so many of us.

He didn’t just teach tools or techniques; he encouraged a mindset of exploration and bold experimentation.

His impact lives on in the workflows we build, the problems we solve, and the community he helped shape with his passion and generosity.

I am incredibly grateful to have learned from him, and I know I am far from alone in that feeling.

12 days of FME and What's Up Wednesdays will never be the same without him!

Condolences and strength to Mark's family and other loved ones, to his colleagues at Safe Software, and to the FME Community.

Rest in peace, Mark Ireland.

You will be deeply missed, but never forgotten.