New head named for docklands authority

A 38 YEAR OLD Dublin born business consultant, Mr Lar Bradshaw, has been appointed by the Minister for the Environment to chair the new Dublin Docklands Development Authority.

The authority, which was formally established at midnight on Wednesday, is charged with securing the regeneration of some 1,300 acres of redundant dockland, stretching from the Custom House to the Pigeon House.

Mr Bradshaw, managing partner of McKinsey and Company's Irish office, has no known political affiliations and was chosen to head the DDDA because of his relative youth, expertise and "incredible vision", one source said.

Six other part time directors have also been appointed: Ms Joan O'Connor, former president of the Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland and managing director of New Ireland Project Managers; Prof P.J. Drudy, of TCD's Centre for Urban and Regional Studies; Mr Lewis Glucksman, vicechairman of SmithBarney Inc, USA, and prominent patron of the International Fund for Ireland; Ms Mary Bergin, a specialist in company law with solicitors James Fagan and Company; Mr John Egan, associate director of Project Management Ltd, and Mr John McCarthy, of the Department of the Environment.

None of the outgoing members of the Custom House Docks Development Authority, which has been subsumed into the new authority, were appointed as directors. "It's a clean sweep," as the source said.