THE newly elected President of the Irish Australian Chamber of Commerce is Dungloe man David Greene.
A qualified solicitor, Mr Greene (35) works as a political advisor for the Minister for Transport and Main Roads in the Queensland State Government.
Speaking to the Donegal News from his Brisbane home this week, Mr Greene admitted that many Chamber members were heartbroken at the current Covid-19 situation in Ireland.
“There is a level of consensus among Irish Australians that the response to Covid-19 in Ireland has been mishandled from the start, and given that Ireland, like Australia, is an island nation, the worst impacts could have been avoided or at least minimized,” he said.
One of five children of Denis Greene (formerly of Mill Road, Dungloe) and Moira Greene (nee Doogan) of Croveigh, Dungloe, David went to school at St. Crona’s National School in Dungloe and Pobailscoil Cloich Cheann Fhaola (PCC) in Falcarragh.
“It’s fair to say I did not enjoy my time at school. I did not perform well academically. At that time, PCC operated a selective entry system, so students were consigned to a particular academic level based on their performance in an entrance exam – at the age of 12. I was consigned to one of the lower order classes which had more than 30 students in it – you can imagine it was not a fertile environment for learning,” he recalled.
After completing his leaving certificate in 2003 he went to study business in I.T. Sligo for a time, worked various jobs around Donegal and Sligo before spending three months in New Orleans. On his return home he studied law at Griffith College in Dublin during which time he clerked for Terence Sweeney in his solicitor’s office in Dungloe.
After graduating with honours in law in 2009 he sat the entrance exams for King’s Inns in Dublin where he successfully gained access to study the Barrister-at-Law degree and was awarded the McCarthy Bursary, a competitive scholarship.
David was admitted to the Bar of Ireland on 13 July 2010 and began “devilling” – working as an apprentice Barrister – for Paul C. McCarthy B.L. (now Senior Counsel), practising primarily in family and child law.
Following the year of “devilling”, David stayed on at the Bar in Dublin but struggled enormously to make ends meet and made the decision to come to Australia.
He landed in Brisbane in February 2012 and quickly found work in a law firm and re-qualified as an Australian solicitor – practising in various areas of the law, including commercial litigation and employment law.
In 2017, he ran unsuccessfully as a candidate for the Australian Labour Party at the Queensland State General Election. Following this, he left the law and became a political advisor for the Minister for Transport and Main Roads in the Queensland State Government – a role which he continues to perform following the re-election of the government at the state general election on October 31.
“I’m very lucky to have one of my sisters, Lorna, living and working here too. She is a physiotherapist and is having a great life living near the beach on the Gold Coast,” he said.
Being involved in the Chamber has brought David into contact with a wide range of people, including Donegal-born members who are achieving major success.
Matt Crossan from Gaoth Dobhair started Cosmic Group. In 2019, they won Start-up of the Year at the Irish Australian Business Awards and he employs plenty of Donegal ex-pats in his business.
John Doherty from Gortahork owns Zico Formwork and was a finalist in the 2019 awards as well, while Kathryn O’Shea from Letterkenny, who is based in Sydney with IDA Ireland, also sits on the national board of the Chamber.
When David arrived in Brisbane in 2012, the Queensland Irish Association was predominantly run by and for second and third generations Irish-Australians.
David was part of a small group who got together with the aim of establishing something fresher and more dynamic. At around the same time, the Irish Australian Chamber of Commerce (which was born in Melbourne about 30 years ago and was largely Melbourne based) was looking to expand to Sydney and Brisbane.
“In a lucky coincidence of timing, our Brisbane group saw the value in becoming a branch of the Chamber and I joined the national board and became the first Queensland Chapter Lead.
“We had our first St. Patrick’s Day Corporate Lunch in Brisbane in March 2015, and the Chamber has continued to grow here and elsewhere since then. We are now in Perth, Adelaide, Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne and indeed in Dublin where our signature event is our Australia Day Corporate lunch in January of every year,” he said.
David was elected President of the Chamber at its AGM on December 10. Prior to that, he had been the Vice President for two years under Clare-man Carl Walsh as President.
The Chamber founded the Irish Australian Business Awards which run every year in Sydney, an event which showcases the depth and breadth of talent in the Irish Australian community.
“By putting our best and brightest at the forefront, we also help to counter some of the negative stereotypes of the Irish in Australia in relation to ‘drunk backpackers’ etc.,” he said.
“We are a phenomenal community of entrepreneurs, small business operators, and professionals who are doing great things in business, in our careers and in society.
“For my part, I would like to take a more active role in promoting the interests of the Irish Australian community and advocating on their behalf. I would like to see us continue to strengthen our diversity and grow into areas where we currently aren’t as strong.
The Sydney market is a key target for us, and I know there are plenty of Donegal people in Sydney who would benefit from what we offer,” he added.
It’s a very tough year for emigrants everywhere, including the Irish in Australia. Many people have had long-awaited trips home put off and have been left uncertain about when they will see relatives again.
While the Chamber of Commerce is primarily a business networking and professional development organisation, they have had to adapt to Covid-19 too.
“We have increased our online activities to ensure members and customers weren’t socially isolated during lockdown, and we increased our efforts to regularly reach out to our members and offer advise and support where needed.
“We worked with Qatar Airways, one of our corporate members, early in the lockdown to identify Irish people in Australia who wanted to return to Ireland,” he said.
“Our community is looking forward to 2021 in hope that the health crisis will fade and we can be part of the effort to respond to the economic crisis which has been left in the wake of the pandemic,” he added.
Receive quality journalism wherever you are, on any device. Keep up to date from the comfort of your own home with a digital subscription.
Any time | Any place | Anywhere
SUBSCRIBE TO CURRENT EDITION TODAY
and get access to our archive editions dating back to 2007(CLICK ON THE TITLE BELOW TO SUBSCRIBE)