Laurence Crowley dies after short illness

Laurence Crowley, the former governor of Bank of Ireland, died on Wednesday morning following a short illness. He was aged 83.

Mr Crowley, an accountant by training, began his career at Kennedy Crowley, the firm established by his father 101 years ago. The firm later became KPMG. Mr Crowley specialised in insolvency and corporate restructuring and was involved in many high-profile receiverships and liquidations.

He joined the board of Bank of Ireland in 1990 and was appointed governor after a decade, a position he considered to be the pinnacle of his career. He left the bank in 2005, a couple of years before the property and financial crisis that engulfed the banking sector.

Sought-after director

The breadth of Mr Crowley’s business experience meant he became one of the most sought-after directors in corporate Ireland. He served spells on boards as diverse as Aer Lingus, the Economic and Social Research Institute, building materials supplier Ecocem, Bord Gáis, pharmaceuticals company Elan and tobacco company PJ Carroll.

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The death of Laurence Crowley marks the passing of one Ireland’s most significant business change-makers of the last half century.

Ibec chief executive Danny McCoy described Mr Crowley’s contribution to corporate life in Ireland was “immense as evidenced by the range of industries he served”.

“His range of contribution to the arts, charities and education - most significantly the UCD Smurfit Business School - exemplified his calm, assured and warm personality. His work on North-South cooperation will be his enduring contribution to future generations,” he added.

Mr Crowley was also closely associated with the establishment of the Michael Smurfit Graduate School of Business at University College Dublin. Outside the corporate sphere he had close links to autism charities and he was also involved in the oversight of Gaisce, the president’s award.