The death has taken place suddenly in Galway of Mr Liam Jones, one of the State's best-known stockbrokers and who was a former senior partner with Goodbody Stockbrokers, now part of Allied Irish Banks. He was also a former president of the Irish Stock Exchange.

Although retired from active stockbroking, Mr Jones was a director of Goodbody Holdings, the holding company for Goodbody Stockbrokers and its various subsidiaries.

Mr Jones (64) had been involved in stockbroking for many years and was a key figure in the 1980s merger of the former Goodbody Wilkinson with Dudgeons to form Goodbody Dudgeon.

Goodbody Dudgeon subsequently became Goodbody James Capel and later Goodbody Stockbrokers before it was acquired by Allied Irish Banks. At that time, Mr Jones was a senior partner and one of the major shareholders in Goodbody.