O'Donovan family present Presidential Chain of Office to Kilkenny Chamber

The President of Kilkenny Chamber Anne Barber has received the original presidential chain of office from Kevin O’Donovan, son of the late Comdt Kevin O’Donovan, President Kilkenny Chamber 1972-1977.

In a simple handover ceremony at the Pembroke Hotel recently, Kevin Jnr said how proud the family were of their Kilkenny roots, and in particular, of the role their father played in the commercial life of Kilkenny City and county as President of the Kilkenny Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

The current Chamber president Anne Barber thanked Kevin and his family for minding the historic heirloom of the Chamber and their most generous gift back to the Chamber after almost 50 years. The original had been replaced in 1973.

The famous Kilkenny hotelier of the day Bobby Kerr made a gift of a new Presidential Chain of office to the Chamber during the Presidency of Kevin O’Donovan. Bobby commissioned the renowned Kilkenny-based silversmith Rudolf Heltzel to both design and create a new chain of office for the Chamber in the mid 1970s.

We are unable to establish an exact date for the original Chain of office as there are no dated links on the chain, however, it is likely to date from c 1948 but could go all the way back to 1929 when the Chamber was first established. It is a much more simple chain with a small medallion centred embracing the city’s coat of arms. The fact that coat of arms is in colour, it is more likely to be the later date of 1948 rather than the earlier one of 1929.
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