Among the archives and artefacts made public by the Central Bank on Thursday was the seal of the famed Ouzel Galley Society, an 18th century club of business dandies set up to arbitrate on trade disputes but also known for hosting lavish parties and all-night drinking sessions.
The society, which was later subsumed by the Dublin Chamber of Commerce, arose out of a bitter dispute over the contents of the Ouzel Galley, a ship that left Dublin in the late 17th century and disappeared, only to turn up several years later with the crew claiming they had been kidnapped and enslaved by Algerian pirates.
Despite suspicions over the crew’s story and allegations they may have become pirates themselves, a complex legal dispute between the ship’s owners, the insurers and the crew over who owned the vessel’s newly acquired pirate booty ensued.
The wrangle, which lasted decades, proved beyond the competency of the courts, and was finally decided by the society, which ruled the ship’s contents should be sold with the proceeds given to the poor, allowing the society lay claim to being the world’s first arbitration body.
The society’s seal, which once adorned the Commercial Buildings on Dame Street, was just one item among a trove of historical objects, documents and ledgers dating from 1786 to 1986, which the bank has made available to researchers.
No obligation
Unlike other institutions, the Central Bank is not covered by the provisions of National Archive Act, meaning it is not obliged to release documents and materials under the 30-year rule. However, it has decided to release all its archives and materials up to 1986 and to abide by the 30-year rule from now on.
The tranche of materials, which includes 12,000 files and 2,000 publications, also includes one of the country’s oldest imports and exports ledger, dating from 1786, which details the amount of gunpowder being imported through Ireland’s main ports prior to the Act of Union.
A more recent cache of documents includes entrance exams from 1946 for those seeking to become “Woman Assistants”, an euphemism for secretary, which included the question: “Explain why water entering a house by a pipe at or below level will flow from a tap in a room upstairs when you turn on the tap?”
Governor Philip Lane said:"The opening of the archives is in line with our commitment to increase transparency and promote public understanding of the role and functions of the Central Bank."
