Vivian Murray
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Vivian Murray (22 July 1932 – 6 March 2009) was an Irish businessman. Murray served as the chief executive of the
Irish Goods Council Enterprise Ireland is an Irish state economic development agency focused on helping Irish-owned business deliver new export sales. The aim of Enterprise Ireland is to help Irish enterprises to "start, grow, innovate and win export sales in glo ...
during the 1970s and 1980s, when it launched the "Buy Irish" and "Guaranteed Irish"
marketing campaign Marketing is the act of acquiring, satisfying and retaining customers. It is one of the primary components of Business administration, business management and commerce. Marketing is usually conducted by the seller, typically a retailer or ma ...
s. Murray's first job was at local
Irish post office (; literally 'The Post') is the state-owned provider of postal services in Ireland. An Post provides a "universal postal service" to all parts of the country as a member of the Universal Postal Union. Services provided include letter post, p ...
in Clonmel following his graduation from high school. His other earlier occupations included positions at both Kelly and Shiel and
Remington Rand Remington Rand, Inc. was an early American business machine manufacturer, originally a typewriter manufacturer and in a later incarnation the manufacturer of the UNIVAC line of mainframe computers. Formed in 1927 following a merger, Remington ...
. Murray also became the chairman of both
An Post (; literally 'The Post') is the state-owned provider of Mail, postal services in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. An Post provides a "universal postal service" to all parts of the country as a member of the Universal Postal Union. Services provide ...
and
Bord Iascaigh Mhara Bord Iascaigh Mhara or BIM (; meaning "Sea Fisheries Board") is the Irish state agency for developing the Irish marine fishing and aquaculture industries. Originally established under the Sea Fisheries Act, 1952,Clonmel Clonmel () is the county town and largest settlement of County Tipperary, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The town is noted in Irish history for its resistance to the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland, Cromwellian army which sacked the towns of Dro ...
,
County Tipperary County Tipperary () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. The county is named after the town of Tipperary (tow ...
to parents, Jeremiah Murray and Mai Lynch Murray. He was one of six children in his family. Murray attended the Christian Brothers High School in his native Clonmel. He married Nancy Clear and was father to John Murray, an Irish
business journalist Business journalism is the part of journalism that tracks, records, analyzes, and interprets the business, economic and financial activities and changes that take place in societies. Topics widely cover the entire purview of all commercial act ...
and broadcaster for the
RTÉ (; ; RTÉThe É in RTÉ is pronounced as an English E () and not an Irish É ()) is an Irish public service broadcaster. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on television, radio and online. The radio service began on 1 January 1926, ...
business division and a ''
Morning Ireland ''Morning Ireland'' is an Irish breakfast news programme broadcast by RTÉ Radio 1 and is noted as the country's most listened to radio programme. It is broadcast each weekday morning between 7 am and 9 am and alternate items are normal ...
'' presenter. Vivian and Nancy had six children during their marriage.


Irish Goods Council

Murray's career began to take off when he was appointed general manager at the Irish National Development Association. The organisation would later be renamed the Irish Goods Council and was funded by the Irish government. Under Murray, the Irish Goods Council would be known as a champion of Irish products, sold both domestically and abroad. He became widely known for his launch of the "Guaranteed Irish" and "Buy Irish" marketing and
advertising campaign An advertising campaign or marketing campaign is a series of advertisement messages that share a single idea and theme which make up an integrated marketing communication (IMC). An IMC is a platform in which a group of people can group their ide ...
s of the 1970s and 1980s, which were aimed at Irish consumers. Murray's "Buy Irish" was based on his own beliefs that quality was more important in Irish products than merely purchasing an item because it was made in Ireland. He also believed that the Buy Irish campaign, as it came to be called, should focus on the Irish consumer market. Murray also felt that low quality products should not be supported by the "Buy Irish" campaign. Murray felt that
free trade Free trade is a trade policy that does not restrict imports or exports. In government, free trade is predominantly advocated by political parties that hold Economic liberalism, economically liberal positions, while economic nationalist politica ...
was important, but did not want the "Buy Irish" campaign to heavily emphasise exports, which he believed was detrimental to the domestic Irish manufacturing and consumer markets. However, he was also strongly against any intrusion by Irish protectionists into the marketing campaign. The campaign was credited with saving thousands of domestic manufacturing jobs, especially for younger people. He explained his goals for the Irish Goods Council and its "Buy Irish" campaign in 1980 saying, "What the Irish Goods Council does is to create the selling environment, develop new patterns of consumer desire, build up goodwill and favourable attitudes. These attitudes must then be exploited by the manufacturer." Murray's success at the Irish Goods Council was widely noted. He and his colleagues at the council were praised by then
Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...
Mary Harney Mary Harney (born 11 March 1953) is an Irish former politician and the former Chancellor of the University of Limerick. She was leader of the Progressive Democrats party between 1993 and 2006 and again from 2007 to 2008, resuming the role afte ...
during a 1980
political debate Political criticism, also referred to as political commentary or political discussion, is a type of criticism that is specific of or relevant to politics, including policies, politicians, political parties, and types of government. See also *Cr ...
. However, success ended during the 1980s. The "Guaranteed Irish" promotional campaign was founded to be in violation of the
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's
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. As a result, the Irish government soon cut its state funding for the campaign. Murray left the Irish Goods Council in 1989. However, he was still named the Small Firms' Association Business Person of the Year in 1989, the same year he left the Irish Goods Council.


Other positions

Murray simultaneously appointed the chairman of the
Bord Iascaigh Mhara Bord Iascaigh Mhara or BIM (; meaning "Sea Fisheries Board") is the Irish state agency for developing the Irish marine fishing and aquaculture industries. Originally established under the Sea Fisheries Act, 1952,An Post (; literally 'The Post') is the state-owned provider of Mail, postal services in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. An Post provides a "universal postal service" to all parts of the country as a member of the Universal Postal Union. Services provide ...
in 1990 following his departure from the Irish Goods Council and was credited with returning the Irish postal system to
profitability In economics, profit is the difference between revenue that an economic entity has received from its outputs and total costs of its inputs, also known as surplus value. It is equal to total revenue minus total cost, including both Explicit co ...
during his tenure. Murray also joined the Gray-Murray
consulting firm A consulting firm or simply consultancy is a professional service firm that provides expertise and specialised labour for a fee, through the use of consultants. Consulting firms may have one employee or thousands; they may consult in a broad ra ...
, which is now known as Indecon.


Later life

Vivian Murray fully retired from the business world during the middle of the 1990s. However, he continued to remain active in other causes and foundations. For example, he collaborated closely with
Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
Father
James McDyer James McDyer (1910–1987) was an Irish Catholic priest and campaigner for the rights of disadvantaged and underdeveloped rural areas of Ireland. Biography McDyer was born, youngest of seven children, in Kilraine in Glenties, County Donegal, on ...
in Glencolumcille,
County Donegal County Donegal ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county of the Republic of Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and is the northernmost county of Ireland. The county mostly borders Northern Ireland, sharing only a small b ...
, to establish projects to promote
Irish culture The culture of Ireland includes the Irish art, art, Music of Ireland, music, Irish dance, dance, Irish mythology, folklore, Irish clothing, traditional clothing, Irish language, language, Irish literature, literature, Irish cuisine, cuisine ...
. He was appointed to the
board of trustees A board of directors is a governing body that supervises the activities of a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government agency. The powers, duties, and responsibilities of a board of directors are determined by government regulatio ...
of the Louvain Institute for Ireland in Europe. The Louvain Institute, which was created to promote Ireland and its cultural heritage in the European Union, is headquartered at the Irish College in
Leuven Leuven (, , ), also called Louvain (, , ), is the capital and largest City status in Belgium, city of the Provinces of Belgium, province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located about east of Brussels. The municipalit ...
, Belgium. Murray was later awarded a fellowship by the institute. Murray's had other very wide-ranging life accomplishments and community involvements. He was appointed as a member of the first
Independent Radio and Television Commission Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...
. Murray served as a former director of the former LSB College, which has since become part of the
Dublin Business School Dublin Business School (DBS), incorporating Portobello College, is a private college Private universities and private colleges are higher education institutions not operated, owned, or institutionally funded by governments. However, they of ...
. He was also an active member of the Priory Institute, which is part of the St Mary's Dominican Priory in
Tallaght Tallaght ( ; , ) is a southwestern outer suburb of Dublin, Ireland. The central village area was the site of a monastic settlement from at least the 8th century, which became one of medieval Ireland's more important monastic centres. Up to th ...
,
County Dublin County Dublin ( or ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland, and holds its capital city, Dublin. It is located on the island's east coast, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. Until 1994, County Dubli ...
. Vivian Murray died in
Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
on 6 March 2008, at the age of 76 after a long illness. Murray was survived by his wife, Nancy (née Clear), and six children – daughters Mary, Anne, Bernie and Madeleine and sons, Dermot and John.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Murray, Vivian 1932 births 2009 deaths 20th-century Irish businesspeople Businesspeople from County Tipperary People from Clonmel People educated at CBS High School Clonmel