Irish Chamber Relaunches With Focus on Southeast U.S. 

Atlanta’s Irish chamber of commerce relaunched ahead of St. Patrick’s Day this week, returning from an “unintentional hiatus” with a new vigor and a more regional focus. 

The organization now known as the Irish American Chamber Southeast went into hibernation during the COVID-19 pandemic but was challenged by the Consulate General of Ireland to reconstitute itself. 

Recruiting for the newly revealed board of directors started when new Consul General Frank Groome arrived in Atlanta last August. 

“We are delighted to have the opportunity to get started during the St Patrick’s celebrations,” Gerry Leonard, CEO of Transit Technologies and the chair of the new board, told Global Atlanta. 

The chamber officially unveiled its new board of directors and logo during a dignitary breakfast with the Irish Network Atlanta on Saturday, March 15, just before the annual Atlanta St. Patrick’s Day Parade. 

Mr. Leonard sees the chamber augmenting “Team Ireland,” which the consulate calls the country’s multifaceted (official) presence in the region.

The consulate itself opened in 2010, and an IDA Ireland office has long recruited companies to the island from an office in Buckhead.

Last Friday, Enterprise Ireland opened its eighth U.S. office in Midtown to help Irish companies grow in Atlanta and the broader market.

The chamber’s differentiator is its stock of executives experienced on both sides of the Atlantic, who can help relay tricks of the cross-border business trade to new entrants, Mr. Leonard said. 

“Although the IDA and Enterprise Ireland have full-time resources dedicated to economic development, their territory area is quite vast and will be very difficult for them to cover,” Mr. Leonard told Global Atlanta. “Our team intends to assist them through introductions, connections and showcasing our own experience on how to succeed as an Irish executive in the U.S., and what U.S. executives need to know about working in Ireland.”

The chamber is offering free memberships in 2025 to help grow its network. 

In some ways, the chamber’s endorsement by the consulate creates a full-circle moment, said long-time president of the former Irish Chamber of Atlanta Kevin Conboy. 

“Like many nonprofit organizations, the Irish Chamber of Atlanta was laid low by COVID,” Mr. Conboy said, but Mr. Groome, the consul general, and his predecessor, Caoimhe Ni Chonchuir, knew the chamber’s historical contributions to making the case for a consulate 15 years ago. They helped inspire the chamber’s rebirth, he added, noting that the chamber’s territory will coincide with the consulate’s: Georgia, the Carolinas, Tennessee and Kentucky.

Mr. Conboy is serving as secretary on the new board of directors, which includes Irish Network co-founder Jessica Thompson; logistics professional Micheal McDonagh; CRH Infrastructure Products CFO Brendan Longergan; former Alix Partners Managing Director Foster Finley and Ciaran Cassidy, a senior vice president at Global Payments. 

While the chamber focuses on business events, Mr. Leonard said Irish Network will continue to focus on social and cultural integration among the diaspora, including the annual Shamrock Open fundraiser and parade. 

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