CLIVE ROWEN, A central figure in Irish skateboarding and founder of the country’s first dedicated skate shop, has died, his family and the skate community have confirmed.

The news was announced late yesterday by Skate City in Temple Bar, the shop Rowen most recently ran.

In a post on social media, the shop described him as “our beautiful hero, the patriarch of our family, world’s best husband, father, grandfather and most importantly our best friend.”

“We love you to infinity and beyond,” the skate shop added.

Rowen opened Clive’s on Hill Street in Dublin in 1978, launching Ireland’s first dedicated skateboarding shop and helping to build the local skate scene from the ground up.

The shop became a home for generations of skaters and a focal point of a growing subculture here.

Speaking to The Journal in 2014, Rowen was modest about his impact but passionate about the joy of skating and its value for young people.

“There’s something magical about a skateboard,” Rowen said.

When you get on your skateboard you get a smile on your face.

He described how, in the early days, his shop on Hill Street was a refuge for skaters.

“A lot of them took their life in their hands in Hill St, but they knew when they got to the door they were safe,” Rowen said.

He added that skateboarding had given people a place where they felt at home, particularly when other avenues seemed closed off.

His dream, he said, was for “a skatepark in every town in Ireland”.

According to skate enthusiast site Trucks and Fins, there are now 63 skate parks across the country.

The story of the early skating scene at Rowen’s shop was later captured in the documentary Hill Street, which charted the evolution of skateboarding culture in Dublin and featured visits by iconic figures such as Tony Hawk, whose team Rowen convinced to come to Ireland for a landmark demo in the ’90s.

Tony Hawk was brought to the Top Hat in Dun Laoghaire where a makeshift skate arena had been created.

Over 700 fans got the opportunity to see their idol, the pioneer of modern skateboarding, perform his tricks, all thanks to Rowen’s persistence.

Rowen retired in January 2024 when Skate City closed.

He is survived by his wife, children and grandchildren.