The life of a caring businessman fondly remembered in book

THE life of a renowned businessman who opened a chain of drapery shops across the Southside in the 1880s has been remembered in a new book.

The cathaoirleach of Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council, Cllr Cormac Devlin, last week launched ‘Edward Lee: Model Employer and Man of Moral Courage’, a publication about the highly successful businessman, Edward Lee.

The book was researched by Michael Lee, great-grandson of Edward Lee, and published by Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council. An accompanying exhibition of the same name will be on display in dlr LexIcon until November 5.

The council stated that this initiative is part of their commitment to highlight important projects relating to the local history of the area.

Edward Lee opened a chain of drapery shops in Bray, Kingstown, Rathmines and Dublin in the 1880s.

He was recognised for his caring attitude towards employees and his deep regard for the welfare of all workers, whether it was their housing conditions or their long working hours.

Edward Lee most famously showed his support for his workers during the Lockout of 1913 and he initiated the half-day holiday for all his staff before the Shops Act of 1912. What was particularly striking was how forward-thinking he was, introducing a system of profit-sharing for his employees.

He was also a guiding force on the committee that organised the influential Irish Industrial Exhibition in Dublin in 1907.

Edward and his wife Annie had nine children and they lived first in The Grange Stillorgan, before moving in 1914 to Bellevue on Cross Avenue in Blackrock. This house was inhabited by the de Valera family after the Lee family left in 1933.

Cathaoirleach Cllr Devlin congratulated Michael Lee and the extended Lee family on the beautifully produced and meticulously researched book and exhibition and he thanked them for sharing their fascinating family history with the community in Dún Laoghaire Rathdown.

‘Edward Lee: Model Employer and Man of Moral Courage’ will be available in bookshops in the coming weeks, including all dlr Libraries, priced €10.