Message from the President

Dear Member,

I was delighted to be elected President of South Dublin Chamber at this year’s AGM. I look forward to working with and representing you our members on the issues that impact all our businesses.

I am the Principal Solicitor of Coyne Solicitors in Lucan incorporating Declan J O’Connell Solicitors in April 2026 and have extensive commercial and business experience working as the legal manager for many years for national organisations before acquiring my own legal practice; working on many projects of national significance from rates litigation to state-of-the-art green energy funding projects for renewable energy projects to the first ever participation agreement between the League of Ireland teams and the national governing body.  There is not much in business and law that I have not came across and I am a good strategist on all thing’s legal and business having advised and legally assisted c-suite and boards for years.  Coyne Solicitors is a general practice law firm that can be your legal partner for all matters and provide assistance to both private individuals and their businesses.

I am the current National Sole Principal of the Year at the Irish Law Awards. I hold a Global Masters in International Sports Law (ISDE Madrid 2024). I was the first Irish Female FIFA Football Agent and I am a certified GDPR expert, certified company secretary, sports director for national governing bodies and a certified commercial contracts lawyer. I also received a post professional qualification in notarial studies from the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court in October 2026.

I am an expert in complex property transactions; having worked for Ireland’s largest landowner and spent several years in the courts specialising in family law.

I spend most of my time on corporate funding transactions and the acquisition and sale of businesses, and family law bringing a practical, solution-focused approach from years at the helm of business. We have a specialised departments for new homes, second hand homes, commercial property, litigation and dispute resolution, probate and wills and family law departments in the law firm. A large active part of our work is in Decision Making Representative applications so we encourage you all to ensure you have an enduring power of attorney in place for your personal and business lives.

We have thankfully seen our economy locally and nationally do well despite the uncertainty brought about by war and its impact on energy prices.

Our members are primarily challenged by the success of our county; we see the shortage of people in the employment areas required and we urgently need our infrastructural deficits addressed.  We need to be more competitive, and it needs to be easier to do business in our county and country. We all need less red tape.

The majority of the issues that we are challenged by are symptoms of success, our population is one of the fastest growing in the EU.

Members are key to our growth and development, the more members that come together the stronger our voice is and the greater the business opportunities there are for us all.

Communication remains key, we have a weekly e-zine, printed newsletters, our website, a strong social media presence and regular individual emails to keep people informed. Our one-to-one contact with members either in person, by phone or email remains a corner stone of our engagement.

Events This is often the most visual part of the Chambers work and is a great opportunity to meet fellow members.

Our main events programme include.

• Corporate Member Events
• Summer BBQ
• Golf Classic
• South Dublin County Business Awards
• Annual Christmas Lunch
• Chamber Connects

Other events are added to the calendar on an ongoing basis.

Our Business-to-Business Bi-Weekly Meetings (B2Bs) are a strong part of the Chambers work in connecting businesses.

We make submissions locally, nationally, and internationally on issues that affect our members including Budget and key infrastructure developments. We then follow up with meetings and further information if needed on the topics of concern to our members. The Chamber is registered as a lobbying organisation on lobbying.ie.

We meet with key Ministers from different Departments including Finance and Enterprise Tourism and Employment plus the opposition spokespeople on these key areas. Our meetings, submissions and reports enable us to effectively ensure our members and our county is heard and recognised as a key contributor to both the regional and national economic growth of our country. It is impossible to be competitive, small and fully sovereign so we also work together with all our European and International partners.

We are a county Chamber and enjoy a positive and constructive relationship with South Dublin County Council. Working with our local government ensures the best possible outcome for the economic future of the county.

We look forward to making South County Dublin and even greater place to live and work together.

Andrea Clarke

President