Frank O'Rourke:FRANK O'ROURKE, who has died aged 80, was former deputy chief executive of Bank of Ireland and also played a significant role in the arts and sport in Ireland.
He initiated Bank of Ireland’s sponsorship of the GAA All Stars awards in 1979. His love of music dated from his school days and in later life he did much to champion classical music in Ireland.
Born in New York in 1931, he was one of four children of Frank O’Rourke and his wife Theresa (née McGrisken). The family returned to Ireland and he grew up in Cavan where he was educated at St Patrick’s College. One of the proudest moments of his teenage years was when he scored the winning point for Cavan Slashers to capture the county minor football championship.
Having secured a position in Bank of Ireland, he was at an early stage in his career and posted to Longford. There, through his involvement in amateur dramatics, he met his future wife Rose Browne. They were married in 1957 and had a family of three boys and two girls.
Recognised as bright, industrious and reliable he was recalled from the branch banking system to head office. Apart from a year at Harvard Business School, he remained there for the rest of his banking career.
In 1968, he was appointed assistant general manager and became the bank’s representative on the Irish Banks Standing Committee. He was given responsibility for planning and overseeing the introduction of decimal currency to Ireland in 1971.
He rose to become deputy chief executive. A team player, he formed a highly effective working relationship with chief executive Mark Hely Hutchinson. Notwithstanding setbacks in overseas ventures in the 1980s, they laid the foundation for soundly based domestic growth in the early years of the Celtic Tiger.
He retired from Bank of Ireland in 1991, and became chairman of the bank’s subsidiary, Irish Civil Service (ICS) building society. Board colleague Charles Lysaght paid tribute to the manner in which he carried out his duties: “Ever courteous and affable, he blended together a divided board giving an audience for all viewpoints and insisting that the board’s position was respected by the parent company.”
Bank of Ireland governor Pat Molloy described him as a “visionary and charismatic leader who had exceptional knowledge of, and empathy with, customers and staff”, and said he would be particularly remembered as a mentor to younger staff.
His passion for music drew him to the Dublin Grand Opera Society, of which he became chairman. He oversaw the transition of what was ultimately an amateur society to a professionally run arts organisation, Opera Ireland.
He compared the process to turning the Queen Mary around in the Grand Canal. Former opera society administrator David Collopy remembers him as an “amazing man and great strategist who was one of the key figures in putting opera in Ireland on a new footing”.
He moved to Greystones from Killiney following the death of his wife in 1997. He developed an interest in Italy and its culture, and enjoyed holidays there. Philosophy was another interest.
A former captain of Dún Laoghaire Golf Club, he was involved in the land swap which resulted in the club’s relocation to Ballyman, near Bray, Co Wicklow, in 2007. He was also involved with the GAA in its redevelopment of Croke Park.
A former board member of the National Concert Hall, he was a founder member of the Wagner Society of Ireland.
He is survived by his sons Fergal, Tiernan and Shane and daughters Mona and Aedamar.
Francis Bernard (Frank) O’Rourke: born August 7th, 1931; died August 22nd, 2011