Waddell Cunningham

Waddell Cunningham (1729 - 1797) was an Irish businessman who was the founding president of the Belfast Chamber of Commerce and first president of the Harbour Board. He was one of the founding members of the Belfast Charitable Society, Clifton House, Belfast. Reputedly the richest man in Belfast, he attempted to establish a slave-trading company in Belfast in 1786.[1] The “Belfast Slaveship Company” was opposed strongly by Thomas McCabe, another founding member.[2]

Cunningham was responsible for the construction of Bank Buildings in Belfast, designed by Sir Robert Taylor.[3]

His house in Royal Avenue (Castle Place) was later demolished. A building for the Catholic Belfast Institute and later, in the mid-nineteenth century, for the Provincial Bank of Ireland was constructed on the site.[4]

References
  1. "A Lying Old Scoundrel". 12 February 2013.
  2. "Man who kept city on right side of slavery - BelfastTelegraph.co.uk".
  3. Carroll, Rory; Rawlinson, Kevin (28 August 2018). "Fears Belfast's Bank Building will collapse after Primark fire". the Guardian. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
  4. "Provincial Bank of Ireland designed by W. J. Barre". The Victorian Web. Retrieved 8 February 2022.
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