Sir Edward Coey (March 1805 – 26 June 1887) was a 19th-century entrepreneur and philanthropist from

Larne Larne (, , the name of a Gaelic Ireland, Gaelic territory) is a town on the east coast of County Antrim, Northern Ireland, with a population of 18,755 at the United Kingdom census, 2011, 2011 Census. It is a major passenger and freight Roll-on/ro ...

County Antrim County Antrim (named after the town of Antrim, ) is one of six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of and has a population o ...

. He helped fund the establishment of

Larne Grammar School Larne Grammar School is a co-educational voluntary grammar school located in Larne, County Antrim, Northern Ireland. Founded in 1886 by Sir Edward Coey and John Crawford, it has around 760 pupils and 50 teaching staff. History The school was ...

in his town of birth, and was mayor of

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

. Coey was born in Larne, and commenced work as an apprentice butcher. He started to build his own business, and became the proprietor of the 'Northern Shoe & Boot House' in Belfast, with his brother James. After a short period working in the US, Coey established a provisions and curing business in the dockland district of Belfast in 1841, called Coey & Co. This business was very successful, and led to Coey developing his business interests including property in Belfast, London, Liverpool and in the United States. Coey represented the St George's Ward in Belfast as a councillor, and in 1861 became the first and only Liberal to serve as Mayor of Belfast. He was knighted in the same year in recognition of his public works, and in 1867 was appointed deputy lieutenant and High Sheriff of County Antrim. He was also a Borough Magistrate in Belfast, member of the Grand Jury and Belfast Harbour Commissioners, and in July 1869, was one of the eight founding subscribers of the present day Northern Ireland Chamber of Commerce and Industry. He is remembered for his philanthropic work, the most notable of which was his donation to establish, together with John Crawford, a grammar school in his home town of Larne, which was opened as Larne Grammar School in 1886. However, Coey's philanthropic work was much more widespread than this. He was a donor to causes as varied as the Belfast Charitable Society, the Presbyterian Orphan Society, and the Presbyterian Sabbath School. He was Patron of the Belfast Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, the Belfast Sailors Home, and the Malone Protestant Reformatory, a life Governor of the Belfast Royal Hospital, a Governor of the Belfast District Hospital for the Insane Poor, and Belfast Ophthalmic Hospital. On 18 November 2006, the

Ulster History Circle The Ulster History Circle is a heritage organisation that administers Blue Plaques for the area that encompasses the province of Ulster on the island of Ireland. It is a voluntary, not-for-profit organisation, placing commemorative plaques in pub ...

unveiled a

blue plaque A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place in the United Kingdom and elsewhere to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person, event, or former building on the site, serving as a historical marker. The term i ...

in his honour at his former home,

Merville House The Georgian Merville House at Merville Garden Village, to be found in the district of Whitehouse on the northern shoreline of Belfast Lough, Northern Ireland was constructed in the year 1795 by John Brown (c.1730-1800), a distinguished banker and ...

, in

Merville Garden Village Merville Garden Village is a housing estate located at Shore Road, Whitehouse, Newtownabbey, County Antrim, Northern Ireland created by structural and landscape architect Edward Prentice Mawson. It was completed in 1949. Historical background ...

, where he died on 27 June 1887.

Arms

References

External links

Ulster History article on life of Coey
{{DEFAULTSORT:Coey, Edward 1805 births 1887 deaths People from County Antrim People from Larne 19th-century British philanthropists