Mary Finan (born 2 August 1944) is an Irish businesswoman who worked in public relations. She was the first woman to serve as president of the

Dublin Chamber of Commerce Dublin Chamber of Commerce also known as the Dublin Chamber, is the oldest chamber of commerce in Ireland. Origins The Dublin Chamber of Commerce was founded in 1783. It had been preceded by other collective bodies including the Guild of Merc ...

, and served as the last chair of the RTÉ Authority.

Life

Finan was born on 2 August 1944 in Loughglynn, County Roscommon. She was the eldest of the 7 children. Her father was John Finan, a local TD and Senator. The family moved to

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

in 1951, first living in

Ballsbridge Ballsbridge () (from historic Ball's Bridge) is an affluent neighbourhood of the city of Dublin, the capital of Ireland. The area is largely north and west of a three-arch stone bridge across the River Dodder, on the south side of the city. Th ...

and later

Rathgar Rathgar (), is a suburb of Dublin in Ireland. It was originally a village which from 1862 was part of the township of Rathmines and Rathgar; it was absorbed by the growing city and became a suburb in 1930. It lies about three kilometres south of ...

. She attended St Louis,

Rathmines Rathmines () is an affluent inner suburb on the Southside of Dublin in Ireland. It lies three kilometres south of the city centre. It begins at the southern side of the Grand Canal and stretches along the Rathmines Road as far as Rathgar to t ...

, going on to study French and English at

University College Dublin University College Dublin (commonly referred to as UCD) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile, Baile Átha Cliath) is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland ...

(UCD). After receiving her degree in 1966, she worked as a presenter on RTÉ television for 3 years. She completed a master's degree at UCD, and then took up a job with Kenny's Advertising, leaving to work at Peter Owens advertising in 1968. She married Geoff Mackechnie on 1 January 1972. They have one daughter, Victoria, born in 1980. Finan was the first woman to serve as president of the Dublin Chamber of Commerce in 1996. In 1999, Finan became the deputy chair of Ogilvy & Mather Group while also managing director Wilson Hartnell Public Relations, a position she held from 1983 having started with the company in 1971. Finan was a council member of the

Dublin Docklands Development Authority The Dublin Docklands Development Authority ( ga, Údarás Forbartha Dugthailte Bhaile Átha Cliath) (DDDA) was created by the Dublin Docklands Development Authority Act 1997 to lead a major project of physical, social and economic regeneration in ...

and chair of the

Economic and Social Research Institute The Economic and Social Research Institute is an Irish research institute founded in 1960 to provide evidence-based research used to inform public policy debate and decision-making. The research of the institute focuses on the areas of sustaina ...

from 2003 having served on the council from 1996. She has served as a director of numerous companies and institutions including

Canada Life Assurance The Canada Life Assurance Company, commonly known as Canada Life, is an insurance and financial services company with its headquarters in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The current company is the result of the 2020 Consolidation (business), amalgamation of T ...

(Ireland), the

Gate Theatre The Gate Theatre is a Theater (structure), theatre on Cavendish Row in Dublin, Ireland. It was founded in 1928. History Beginnings The Gate Theatre was founded in 1928 by Hilton Edwards and Micheál MacLiammóir with Daisy Bannard Cogley and Ge ...

, the

Automobile Association Automobile associations, also referred to as motoring clubs, motoring associations, motor clubs, are organizations, either for-profit or non-profit, which motorists (drivers and vehicle owners) can join to enjoy benefits provided by the club relat ...

, ICS Building Society, the Dublin City University Educational Trust, the UCD Clinton Institute for American Studies, the

Irish Chamber Orchestra The Irish Chamber Orchestra (ICO) is an Irish classical music ensemble, administratively based at the University of Limerick. János Fürst founded the ICO in 1963. The ICO consisted only of strings as its regular ensemble for many years, adding wi ...

Opera Ireland The Irish National Opera was created from a merger of the Opera Theatre Company (OTC) and Wide Open Opera in 2017 and launched in January 2018. The new entity continues the tradition of the former Opera Ireland (), Ireland's first permanent natio ...

, the

Tyrone Guthrie Centre The Tyrone Guthrie Centre, often known as ''Annaghmakerrig'', is a residential facility for creative artists. Located at Annaghmakerrig, Newbliss, County Monaghan, Ireland, it was founded in 1981. The house was the family home of theatrical dir ...

at Annaghmakerrig, the Cheshire Foundation, and the Buildings of Ireland Charitable Trust. She also served as the last chair of the RTÉ Authority from 2006 until the body was reformed as the

Broadcasting Authority of Ireland The Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI) ( ga, Údarás Craolacháin na hÉireann) was established on 1 October 2009 effectively replacing the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland (BCI) ( ga, Coimisiún Craolacháin na hÉireann). The BAI is ...

. In 2012 she completed the Advanced Leadership Fellowship Programme at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

. In 2011, Finan was awarded an honorary Doctor of Law Degree by the

National University of Ireland The National University of Ireland (NUI) ( ga, Ollscoil na hÉireann) is a federal university system of ''constituent universities'' (previously called ''university college, constituent colleges'') and ''recognised colleges'' set up under t ...

. In 2015, she was given the Lifetime Achievement Award at

IMAGE An image is a visual representation of something. It can be two-dimensional, three-dimensional, or somehow otherwise feed into the visual system to convey information. An image can be an artifact, such as a photograph or other two-dimensiona ...

Businesswoman of the Year Awards, the second woman to receive the honour.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Finan, Mary 1944 births People from County Roscommon 20th-century Irish businesspeople 21st-century Irish businesspeople Living people