Central Bank publishes T.K. Whitaker’s memoir

Central Bank of Ireland has made the memoir of former Governor T.K. Whitaker available digitally for the first time.

While the memoir has been available for in-person viewing in the Central Bank's archives, it is now accessible online at www.centralbank.ie, allowing a wider audience to engage with this important historical document.

The publication of T.K. Whitaker's Memoir: Central Bank and Government, 1969-1976 marks 110 years since T.K. Whitaker’s birth and 50 years since the end of his term as Governor.

The memoir provides a first-hand account of a formative period in Ireland's economic history, and the relationship between government policy and central banking.

The publication also coincides with the 2026 Whitaker Lecture, which was delivered by former Governor Patrick Honohan, who served as Governor from 2009 to 2015. The lecture series was established to honour Whitaker’s legacy and features a well-known figure from the field of economics. Past speakers include Mark Carney, Gita Gopinath, and Augustín Carstens.

Speaking on the publication, Governor Gabriel Makhlouf said: “I am delighted that we are making this memoir more widely available. In doing so, we are helping to preserve an important part of the Central Bank’s own history and of the wider story of economic policymaking in Ireland. Contemporary readers can engage directly with Whitaker’s reflections on the responsibilities of central banking, the pressures of public finance, and the complexities of policy formation in a small open economy.

“T.K. Whitaker stands among the most consequential figures in modern Irish public life. His contribution to the economic development of the State, to the quality of public administration, and to the shaping of policy through disciplined analysis and principled advice is of lasting significance.”

ENDS

Further information

Martin Grant, [email protected], 086 078 7868