The AGM of County Kildare Chamber was held on Thursday morning the 15th October. Luke Hanahoe of Hanahoe and Hanahoe Solicitors in Naas was re-elected President of the organisation.
Luke Hanahoe said, “It is an incredible honour and privilege to be re-elected President of County Kildare Chamber. I am looking forward to working with and on behalf of the membership to ensure Kildare businesses continue to thrive. Whilst the past 7 months have been very challenging for business in the county, the Chamber will continue to provide its excellent services to the business community across all sectors.
While the Covid crisis cannot be ignored, I refuse to look at Kildare solely through its prism. If there is a ‘new normal’, it is that Kildare and the businesses we home, are the envy of country. During the height of the Covid Crisis, Dr Pepper announced plans to open up a manufacturing plant in Newbridge, creating 50 new jobs. They will be based in the old Lidl site, adjacent to another multinational Pfizer. The only reason the old Lidl site is available, is because, like Dr Pepper, Lidl too invested heavily in Kildare. You add that to the announcements made by Monster Energy in Athy and the €4 Billion investment Intel are making in Leixlip and you see that there have been many of good news stories coming out of Kildare in the last few months.
Allan Shine, CEO of the Chamber said, “County Kildare Chamber is the business organisation in Kildare, proactively working to identify and progress developments that are facilitative of economic and sustainable growth. Representing an employer base of 400 businesses and over 38,000 employees across the county, County Kildare Chamber is the largest business organisation in the mid-east region of Ireland.
Given the significant breadth and depth of our membership, and our representation on various bodies at local and national level, County Kildare Chamber constitutes the representative voice for business in Kildare, a particularly important role given the current economic circumstances in the county and the state. I am delighted to again be working with a strong board with a wide and varied mix of business representatives from throughout the county”.
At the Chamber AGM, outgoing committee member Noel Dempsey of Dooley Insurances was acknowledged for his 9 years on the committee of the organisation. Paul Keogh of Paul Keogh and Associates was elected onto the board.
Elected at the County Kildare Chamber AGM were:
Chamber President: Luke Hanahoe (Hanahoe and Hanahoe Solicitors)
Vice President: Mairead Hennessey (Taxkey)
Treasurer: Keith Traynor (KT Accountants)
Secretary: Ronan Twohig (Gannon Office Solutions)
Executive Committee
Brian Purcell (BP Communications)
Clodagh Hughes (Bank of Ireland)
John Hurley (Fiach Financial)
Maureen Bergin (Kildare Village)
Mary Fenin Byrne (The Clanard Court Hotel)
Evan Arkwright (The Curragh Racecourse)
Lloyd O’Rourke (VEI Global)
Pat Sutton (O’Kelly Sutton Chartered Accountants)
Adrian Mooney (Kilkea Castle)
Paul Keogh (Paul Keogh and Associates)