Dublin Chamber of Commerce
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2015}}
{{Use Irish English|date=July 2015}}
{{Infobox organization
| name = Dublin Chamber of Commerce
| formation = {{start date and age|1783}}
| logo = Dublin Chamber of Commerce logo.png
| logo_size = 150px
| headquarters = 7 Clare Street, Dublin 2
| leader_title = President
| leader_name = Catherine Moroney
| website = {{URL|https://www.dublinchamber.ie/}}
}}
Dublin Chamber of Commerce, also known as the Dublin Chamber, is the oldest chamber of commerce in Ireland.{{Cite web|date=17 November 2014|title=Back to the future at Dublin Chamber of Commerce|url=https://www.independent.ie/business/back-to-the-future-at-dublin-chamber-of-commerce-30752045.html|access-date=2022-02-23|website=independent|language=en}} It was founded in 1783.
Origins
File:Dublin Chamber of Commerce.jpg
The Dublin Chamber of Commerce was founded in 1783.{{cite thesis|last=Harrison|first=Richard S.|title=Dublin Quakers in Business 1800 — 1850|degree=M.Litt.|date=1987|publisher=Trinity College Dublin|hdl=2262/79673| page= 65}} It had been preceded by other collective bodies including the Guild of Merchants, which dated from the mediaeval period, and the Ouzel Galley Society, established at the beginning of the 18th century. Dublin Chamber's formation followed a weakening of the merchant guild system which left an opening for bodies which advocated free trade. Much of the focus of the organisation in its early years was on abolishing impositions and opposing restrictions on export trade.{{Cite journal|last=Falkiner|first=Cæsar Litton|date=1902|title=Some Illustrations of the Commercial History of Dublin in the Eighteenth Century|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/25502710|journal=Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy. Section C: Archaeology, Celtic Studies, History, Linguistics, Literature|volume=24|pages=133–152|issn=0035-8991}}{{Cite web|date=2013-03-05|title=Links to the Chamber of Commerce|url=https://www.historyireland.com/links-to-the-chamber-of-commerce/|access-date=2022-02-23|website=History Ireland}} Travers Hartley served as the organisation's first president from 1783 to 1788.{{Cite web|title=Past Presidents|url=https://www.dublinchamber.ie/About-Us/Past-Presidents|access-date=2022-02-23|website=dublinchamber.ie | publisher = Dublin Chamber of Commerce}}
The creation of Dublin Chamber led to the formation of other chambers of commerce around Ireland, including Waterford (1787),{{Cite web|title=Who We Are|url=https://www.waterfordchamber.ie/who-we-are/|access-date=2022-02-23|website=Waterford Chamber of Commerce|language=en-GB}} Limerick (1805),{{Cite web|title=Limerick Chamber|url=https://www.limerick.ie/business/how-we-help/business-supports/limerick-chamber|access-date=2022-02-23|website=www.limerick.ie|language=en}} Cork (1819),{{Cite web|title=Cork Chamber 200 - Fund Raising for the Cork Community|url=https://www.corkchamber.ie/who-we-are/chamber-history/|access-date=2022-02-23|website=Cork Chamber - Advancing Business Together|language=en-US}} and Londonderry (1885).{{Cite web|last=|first=|title=History|url=https://londonderrychamber.co.uk/about-us/history/|access-date=2022-02-23|website=Derry / Londonderry Chamber of Commerce|language=en}} By 1819, there were 19 chambers of commerce operating in Britain and Ireland, and a federation, the Association of Chambers of Commerce, was created in 1860 to include the Irish chambers. Following independence, the chambers in Ireland became members of the Association of Irish Chambers of Commerce, a body now known as Chambers Ireland.{{fact|date=December 2021}}
In 1996, Mary Finan was appointed president of the Dublin Chamber, the first woman to hold the position.{{Cite web |title=A HEART FOR BUSINESS |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/a-heart-for-business-1.36833 |access-date=2022-02-28 |website=The Irish Times |language=en}}
Notable past presidents
Notable former presidents have included:
- Arthur Guinness II (1827–1855)
- Malcolm Inglis (1900–1902)
- Andrew Jameson (1921)
- Henry Morgan Dockrell (1933)
- Eddie Kelliher (1978)
- Mary Finan (1996)
Further reading
- Princes & Pirates: the Dublin Chamber of Commerce 1783-1983 written by L.M. Cullen and published in 1983 by Dublin Chamber of Commerce ({{ISBN|9780900346491}}).
- A Most Respectful Meeting of Merchants: Dublin Chamber of Commerce written by Enda McMahon and published in 2014 ({{ISBN|9781907535437}}).