In the lead up to St Patrick’s Day, we are recognising the contributions of Irish business people who now call Australia home. In this article we interview David Greene, President of the Queensland Chapter and National Board Member, Irish Australian Chamber of Commerce.
What is your fondest memory of Ireland?
I always remember the rare hot summer days. We’d only get a couple of days every year when the temperature would stay in the 20s. I remember thinking then, and still believe now, that it was the nicest place in the whole world when the sun shone. Strolling deserted country lanes, picking blackberries, listening to the birds – an idyllic childhood.
What made you the business person you are today?
The greatest gift we have as Irish people and Irish-Australian’s is our connection to one another – a shared understanding, and often, a shared set of beliefs and frameworks in which we conduct ourselves in both our professional and personal lives. It was in search of those connections that I first became involved with the IACC, and my role as the Queensland Chapter President is, in most respects, in service to that greater goal of helping Irish people, or those with an affinity for Ireland, to connect, and grow and prosper.
What does your typical work day involve?
A whirlwind of activity from early morning to late evening. Balancing my professional role as a solicitor, with my role as Queensland Chapter President of the IACC. I typically get to work around 7.30, and catch up on emails and updates on case law. Mid-morning is usually a good time for phone calls, and then onto meetings until lunch.
Afternoons typically involve the “heavy lifting” of drafting submissions, preparing for Court, and everything else that goes into a busy solicitor’s day. I usually leave the office anytime between 5 and 6, and use the commute to make more phone calls. After dinner, I often get time to reply to more emails and plan out the following day.
There is no distinct separation between my IACC tasks and my solicitor tasks – activities for both are interspersed throughout the day.
Why do you do what you do?
I became a solicitor because I wanted to do good work for ordinary people. Its that mission, more than anything else, which keeps me going. I became involved with the IACC, and became Queensland Chapter President, because I felt there was something I could add, and wanted to help other young Irish professionals to make the vital connections necessary to survive and thrive in Australia.
What is instilled in you from your Irish upbringing that has made you the person you are today?
That’s easy – a real and lived form of social justice. Where I grew up, there was a very strong community and a shared sense of success and failure. The community, in many respects, shared grief in tragedy, prosperity in the good times, and poverty in the bad times. There was also a strong sense of “live and let live”, and each of those elements have combined to produce a truly remarkable shared ethos and understanding.
What don’t we have in Australia that is in Ireland you would like to bring here?
Personally, and like most people, I miss my family and would love to have them join me here. However, I truly believe that if we could bring even a shred of the community spirit which exists in Ireland to the suburbs we live in here in Australia, then this nation would be changed utterly for the better.
Catherine Gabott, Owner and Director of Suppawtive Solutions.