Maurice Moynihan - Influence and Legacy

Influence and Legacy

He is acknowledged to have played a “central, constructive role in the coordination of government policy generally”, and “his contribution to the development of the State was significant and enduring....matched only by his modesty and courteous manner” in the early formative years of the newly-independent Irish Free State and later Republic of Ireland.

He was also a close collaborator of de Valera in defending Ireland’s neutrality during the World War II. He is also credited by the Central Bank with having stewarded its development in areas such as the issuance of credit advice to banks marking the beginnings of monetary policy, the provision of rediscounting facilities, active participation in the market for government securities, the development of clearing systems and preparatory work for a money market, and the widening of fund backing to include non-sterling assets. During his Governorship, the Bank assumed responsibility for the administration of exchange controls, the printing of banknotes in Dublin, as well as banking supervision. He oversaw the supervision of the bank mergers, and the centralization of foreign exchange reserves. He also initiated monetary research and economic policy formulation in the Central Bank. He initiated the construction of the modern Central Bank premises in Dame Street in Dublin.