Michael Dempsey, a native of John Street, Enniscorthy, is the new President of Enniscorthy Town & District Chamber of Commerce. He was elected at the AGM in December and replaces Colm Neville of The Riverside Park Hotel as leader of the town and district’s business community.
The election of Mr. Dempsey to the Presidency is a major coup for the Chamber in that he is one of Ireland’s leading businessmen having served as Managing Director of Bristol Myers Squib Pharmaceuticals as well as Senior European Markets Director for the company also. In 2010, Mr. Dempsey was appointed by the Government to Chair the Board of FAS, the then State Training Agency which was mired in controversy at the time. With more than 1,000 employees on its books, the appointment was viewed by many as a ‘Poison Chalice’ but with Dempsey’s no nonsense approach, the agency was turned round in record time and is today known as Solas, the State’s Further Education and Training Board.
The New Committee
The new Vice President is Niall Byrne, Sandbrook. Kilcorral,Castlebridge, Wexford, The managing partner of well known architectural firm NMB Architects. The company has offices in Temple House, Templeshannon, Enniscorthy, and is engaged in major architectural projects in Ireland, Europe and as Far afield as Australia.
The new Treasurer is Mr. MJ Furlong from Adamstown. Mr. Furlong, the newly appointed Manager of AIB Bank, Enniscorthy, continues the long tradition of AIB Bank’s involvement with the Chamber with two previous Enniscorthy based Managers, Maree Lyng and Emma Fox having served on the Board, Maree as President, and Emma as Treasurer.
Maria Nolan, Bellefield, Enniscorthy, was returned unopposed as Chamber Secretary having served in that position for the past two years. Maria is a well known community activist and is the driving force behind the Wexford Literary Festival which has gained international recognition in recent years. Also returned unopposed were the two outgoing Directors, Michael Bennett and Eric Barron, while Eugene Doyle, Accountant, was returned as Company Secretary and Sheil Kinnear, Accountants, as Company Auditors.