Robin Lewis-Crosby
ROBIN LEWIS-CROSBY, who has died aged 93, was a former deputy governor of the Bank of Ireland. A chartered accountant by profession, he was a former president of the Royal Dublin Society, former president of the Institute of Bankers and one of the main architects of the Irish Times Trust.
He was also closely involved in the life of his church and the wider community. Born in Dublin in May 1915, he was the eldest of the five children of Ernest Lewis-Crosby and his wife Hilda (née Darley). His father, who was Church of Ireland rector in Rathmines and later Stillorgan, was subsequently appointed Dean of Christ Church Cathedral.
Robin was educated at Rugby School, Warwickshire, and initially read law at Oxford University before switching to mathematics. He next joined Stokes Bros and Pim, forerunner of KPMG, as a trainee accountant.
During the second World War, he joined the British army. Serving in the Royal Artillery, he rose to the rank of captain and was awarded the Military Cross for bravery.
Following the war he returned to Dublin, and was made a partner at Stokes Bros and Pim shortly after qualifying as an accountant.
In 1957 he was elected to the court of directors of the Bank of Ireland, and thereafter concentrated on banking. In 1970 he was elected deputy governor of the bank, and re-elected in 1979. He retired in 1983.
In the early 1970s he was one of the principal advisers consulted on the formation of the Irish Times Trust. The trust, which came into being in 1974, is credited with securing the independence of The Irish Times and providing the newspaper with a valuable charter of aims and objectives that has stood the test of time. Active in his father's former Church of Ireland parish in Stillorgan, he was also active in the church at a wider level.
A member of the board of Christ Church Cathedral, in the 1970s he served as a member of the Priorities Committee which looked at the future of the Church of Ireland. In addition he was a member of the Representative Church Body from 1975 to 1990. He was made a lay canon in 1997.
Chairman of both the Association for the Promotion of Christian Knowledge and the Disestablishment Trust charity, he was also associated with the Dublin Central Mission. A member of the council of Stewarts Hospital, he was a trustee of the Bewley Community Ltd and a council member of Co-operation North.
He was a former captain and president of Three Rock Rovers hockey club, and also held the captaincy and presidency of Carrickmines Golf Club. A member of the MCC, he regularly attended test matches at Lords. Affable and amiable, he was renowned for his hospitality. In 1940 he married Peg Darley, who predeceased him in 2004. He is survived by his daughters Tish and Claire, son Antony and sister Hillie.
Robin Lewis-Crosby: born May 1st, 1915; died July 28th, 2008