Ireland increases UK board seats

Ireland now provides almost a fifth of non-British directors on company boards, according to figures from Companies House.

Over 44,000 Irish nationals sit on UK-registered companies, more than the next three largest national groups, Indians, Australians and Americans, combined.

The study, commissioned by communications consultancy Eulogy, found that more than a quarter of the Irish company directors in the UK are under the age of 40, demonstrating that the economic boom in the Republic has not deterred many young entrepreneurs from moving to the UK.

Forty per cent of Irish company directors in the UK are female.

Giles O'Neill, UK director at Enterprise Ireland, the inward investment agency, said the figures confirmed the great business links that exist between Britain and Ireland.

"This research should give us confidence that we can continue to trade successfully together through these challenging times," he said.

London and the south-east are most heavily populated with Irish senior executives with over 30 per cent of the directors in this region hailing from across the Irish Sea.

However significant numbers are also to be found in the north-west, south-west and West Midlands. There are even three Irish directors now living in the Shetland Isles.

Other nationalities in the top 10 of non-British executives on UK boards are Nigerians, with 10,001 entries, Italians, with 9,773 entries, and the French, with 9,090 entries.

Blue Sheep, a research company that compiled the figures, also noted the number of entries of Irish surnames. Murphy topped the list with 718 entries, followed by Kelly, O'Neill and Doherty.

Iain Lovett, executive chairman of Blue Sheep, said: "It is clear from these findings that the UK cannot see itself as an island.

"Input and investment from directors hailing from all parts of the globe will be incredibly important when looking to rebuild our economic strength."

Adrian Brady, chief executive of Eulogy, who is himself an Irish national, said: "It illustrates that even in these tough times as neighbouring economies we can continue to work closely in business."

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