1.
Dublin Docklands
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Dublin Docklands is an area of the city of Dublin, Ireland, on both sides of the River Liffey, roughly from Talbot Memorial Bridge eastwards to the 3Arena. The Docklands has over recent years been regenerated as an extension of the business hub of Dublins International Financial Services Centre. By 2008 the area had over 600 enterprises with new companies moving in every month, values and development activity has since 2014 made a significant recovery. The urban regeneration has transformed the Docklands into a built environment. New infrastructure, such as the Samuel Beckett Bridge and the LUAS Docklands extension, has made the more accessible. New venues, including the Bord Gais Energy Theatre, the refurbished 3Arena, on 22 May 2014, it was announced that a fast-track planning process was approved by An Bord Pleanala. It is also the location of the Convention Centre Dublin, Point Village, A redevelopment beside The Point Depot, it includes a hotel, a shopping centre,13,000 m² of office space, a 3-story underground car park, a 12-screen cinema, and more. While the hotel and cinema opened, the centre and office space remain empty. A U2 Experience Museum was originally planned for the development, but was opened as a permanent exhibition in the Little Museum of Dublin on St. Stephens Green and renamed U2. This and the elements of the GCD are now known as Silicon Docks and host the European HQs of Google, Facebook, LinkedIn. Completed projects include Grand Canal Square, Marker Hotel, Alto Vetro, Google Docks, wheel of Dublin, From July 2010 to November 2011, the 10 million euro,350 tonne,60 metre tall,42 capsule Ferris wheel operated beside ‘O2 Dublin’. Before its arrival in Dublin, the wheel had been located beside Belfast’s City Hall from October 2007 to April 2010, following closure in Belfast, it was dismantled and transported to Dublin. It closed due to a lack of demand, and was again on the move. Point Village Market, The outdoor weekend market was developed by businessman Harry Crosbie and it featured a large open-air stage with performances from local musicians. The market stalls offered traditional farmers produce as well as goods, crafts, antiques. The Point Village Market was open from May to November 2010, Point Village on Ice, The 5000 square feet outdoor ice rink was open for a short time in the winter of 2010-2011. It opened again December 2014-January 2015, U2 Tower, Also known as Britain Quay Tower, it was intended to be the tallest building on the island of Ireland at an estimated 180m. It was meant to house a studio for U2
2.
Dublin
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Dublin is the capital and largest city of Ireland. Dublin is in the province of Leinster on Irelands east coast, the city has an urban area population of 1,345,402. The population of the Greater Dublin Area, as of 2016, was 1,904,806 people, founded as a Viking settlement, the Kingdom of Dublin became Irelands principal city following the Norman invasion. The city expanded rapidly from the 17th century and was briefly the second largest city in the British Empire before the Acts of Union in 1800, following the partition of Ireland in 1922, Dublin became the capital of the Irish Free State, later renamed Ireland. Dublin is administered by a City Council, the city is listed by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network as a global city, with a ranking of Alpha-, which places it amongst the top thirty cities in the world. It is a historical and contemporary centre for education, the arts, administration, economy, the name Dublin comes from the Irish word Dubhlinn, early Classical Irish Dubhlind/Duibhlind, dubh /d̪uβ/, alt. /d̪uw/, alt /d̪u, / meaning black, dark, and lind /lʲiɲ pool and this tidal pool was located where the River Poddle entered the Liffey, on the site of the castle gardens at the rear of Dublin Castle. In Modern Irish the name is Duibhlinn, and Irish rhymes from Dublin County show that in Dublin Leinster Irish it was pronounced Duílinn /d̪ˠi, other localities in Ireland also bear the name Duibhlinn, variously anglicized as Devlin, Divlin and Difflin. Historically, scribes using the Gaelic script wrote bh with a dot over the b and those without knowledge of Irish omitted the dot, spelling the name as Dublin. Variations on the name are found in traditionally Irish-speaking areas of Scotland, such as An Linne Dhubh. It is now thought that the Viking settlement was preceded by a Christian ecclesiastical settlement known as Duibhlinn, beginning in the 9th and 10th century, there were two settlements where the modern city stands. Baile Átha Cliath, meaning town of the ford, is the common name for the city in modern Irish. Áth Cliath is a name referring to a fording point of the River Liffey near Father Mathew Bridge. Baile Átha Cliath was an early Christian monastery, believed to have been in the area of Aungier Street, there are other towns of the same name, such as Àth Cliath in East Ayrshire, Scotland, which is Anglicised as Hurlford. Although the area of Dublin Bay has been inhabited by humans since prehistoric times and he called the settlement Eblana polis. It is now thought that the Viking settlement was preceded by a Christian ecclesiastical settlement known as Duibhlinn, beginning in the 9th and 10th century, there were two settlements where the modern city stands. The subsequent Scandinavian settlement centred on the River Poddle, a tributary of the Liffey in an area now known as Wood Quay, the Dubhlinn was a small lake used to moor ships, the Poddle connected the lake with the Liffey. This lake was covered during the early 18th century as the city grew, the Dubhlinn lay where the Castle Garden is now located, opposite the Chester Beatty Library in Dublin Castle
3.
Republic of Ireland
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Ireland, also known as the Republic of Ireland, is a sovereign state in north-western Europe occupying about five-sixths of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, which is located on the part of the island. The state shares its land border with Northern Ireland, a part of the United Kingdom. It is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, with the Celtic Sea to the south, Saint Georges Channel to the south-east, and it is a unitary, parliamentary republic. The head of government is the Taoiseach, who is elected by the Dáil and appointed by the President, the state was created as the Irish Free State in 1922 as a result of the Anglo-Irish Treaty. It was officially declared a republic in 1949, following the Republic of Ireland Act 1948, Ireland became a member of the United Nations in December 1955. It joined the European Economic Community, the predecessor of the European Union, after joining the EEC, Ireland enacted a series of liberal economic policies that resulted in rapid economic growth. The country achieved considerable prosperity between the years of 1995 and 2007, which known as the Celtic Tiger period. This was halted by a financial crisis that began in 2008. However, as the Irish economy was the fastest growing in the EU in 2015, Ireland is again quickly ascending league tables comparing wealth and prosperity internationally. For example, in 2015, Ireland was ranked as the joint sixth most developed country in the world by the United Nations Human Development Index and it also performs well in several national performance metrics, including freedom of the press, economic freedom and civil liberties. Ireland is a member of the European Union and is a member of the Council of Europe. The 1922 state, comprising 26 of the 32 counties of Ireland, was styled, the Constitution of Ireland, adopted in 1937, provides that the name of the State is Éire, or, in the English language, Ireland. Section 2 of the Republic of Ireland Act 1948 states, It is hereby declared that the description of the State shall be the Republic of Ireland. The 1948 Act does not name the state as Republic of Ireland, because to have done so would have put it in conflict with the Constitution. The government of the United Kingdom used the name Eire, and, from 1949, Republic of Ireland, for the state, as well as Ireland, Éire or the Republic of Ireland, the state is also referred to as the Republic, Southern Ireland or the South. In an Irish republican context it is referred to as the Free State or the 26 Counties. From the Act of Union on 1 January 1801, until 6 December 1922, during the Great Famine, from 1845 to 1849, the islands population of over 8 million fell by 30%
4.
Aedas
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Aedas is an international architectural firm, which is one of the worlds largest. It is world renowned for several projects, such as the Pentominium. Aedas was established in 2002 and has grown from 550 employees in 2002 to over 1,000 in 2008 when it became the seventh largest architectural practicesin the world. In 2014, Aedas employs 1,400 staff at 13 offices in eight countries, in the beginning of 2015, Aedas acquired UK practice RHWL and Arts Team. Aedas has completed more than 100 projects totalling over 100 million square feet of space around the world
5.
Daniel Libeskind
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Daniel Libeskind is a Polish-American architect, artist, professor and set designer of Polish Jewish descent. Libeskind founded Studio Daniel Libeskind in 1989 with his wife, Nina and his portfolio also includes several residential projects. Libeskinds work has exhibited in major museums and galleries around the world, including the Museum of Modern Art, the Bauhaus Archives, the Art Institute of Chicago. On February 27,2003, Libeskind won the competition to be the master architect for the reconstruction of the World Trade Center site in Lower Manhattan. Born in Łódź, Poland, Libeskind was the child of Dora and Nachman Libeskind. As a young child, Libeskind learned to play the accordion and quickly became a virtuoso and he won a prestigious America Israel Cultural Foundation scholarship in 1959 and played alongside a young Itzhak Perlman. Libeskind lived in Poland for 13 years and can speak, read. In 1957, the Libeskinds moved to Kibbutz Gvat, Israel, in his autobiography, Breaking Ground, An Immigrants Journey from Poland to Ground Zero, Libeskind spoke of how the kibbutz experience influenced his concern for green architecture. In the summer of 1959, the Libeskinds moved to New York City on one of the last immigrant boats to the United States, in New York, Libeskind lived in the Amalgamated Housing Cooperative in the northwest Bronx, a union-sponsored, middle-income cooperative development. He attended the Bronx High School of Science, the print shop where his father worked was on Stone Street in Lower Manhattan, and Libeskind watched the original World Trade Center being built in the 1960s. Libeskind became a United States citizen in 1965, Libeskind met Nina Lewis, his future wife and business partner, at the Bundist-run Camp Hemshekh in upstate New York in 1966. They married a few years later and, instead of a traditional honeymoon, Nina now serves as COO for Studio Daniel Libeskind. In 1968, Libeskind briefly worked as an apprentice to architect Richard Meier, the same year, he was hired to work at Peter Eisenmans New York Institute for Architecture and Urban Studies, but he quit almost immediately. Since 2007, Libeskind has been a professor at the Leuphana University Lüneburg in Lüneburg. He is both a U. S. and Israeli citizen, Nina and Daniel Libeskind have three children, Lev, Noam, and Rachel. Libeskind began his career as an architectural theorist and professor, holding positions at institutions around the world. Libeskind completed his first building at the age of 52, with the opening of the Felix Nussbaum Haus in 1998, prior to this, critics had dismissed his designs as unbuildable or unduly assertive. In 1987, Libeskind won his first design competition for housing in West Berlin, but the Berlin Wall fell shortly thereafter, Libeskind won the first four projects competitions he entered
6.
Arup Group
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The firm has over 14,000 staff based in 92 offices across 42 countries, and is present in Africa, the Americas, Australasia, East Asia, Europe and the Middle East. Arup has participated in projects in over 160 countries, Arup is owned by trusts, the beneficiaries of which are Arups past and present employees, who receive a share of the firms operating profit each year. The firm was founded in London in 1946, as the Ove N. Arup Consulting Engineers by Ove Arup and he set out to build a firm where professionals of diverse disciplines could work together to produce projects of greater quality than was achievable by them working in isolation. In 1963, together with the architect Philip Dowson, Arup Associates was formed, in 1970, the firm reformed as Ove Arup & Partners. It is best known for its work for the built environment. Projects to which it has contributed include the Sydney Opera House,3, Nevada, USA Druk White Lotus School was built to survive the Ladakhi weather. Kingdom Centre, The third tallest skyscraper in Saudi Arabia, and the second tallest in Riyadh and this group continues to work under the banner of Arup Associates following a streamlining of the Arup brand. Many of Arups modern stadia are designed with a contemporary, distinctive edge, the most notable stadium projects led by Arup remain the City of Manchester Stadium, Allianz Arena, Beijing National Stadium, Donbass Arena and the Singapore Sports Hub. Arups multidisciplinary sports venue design and engineering scope on the Singapore Sports Hub won the 2013 World Architecture Festival Award in the Future Projects, the Casa da Música, Oporto, designed by Arup and Office for Metropolitan Architecture was nominated for the 2007 Stirling Prize. Arup was awarded the Worldaware Award for Innovation for its Vawtex air system in Harare International School, Arup Fire has won the Fire Safety Engineering Design award four times since its creation in 2001. The 2001 inaugural award was won for Arups contribution to the Eden Project in Cornwall, UK, in 2004, the design for Londons City Hall was appointed joint winner. In 2005, the Temple Mills Eurostar Depot won, the 2006 winning entry was for Amethyst House, a nine-storey building with an atrium from the ground to the top, in Manchester, UK. Arup was also awarded Royal Town Planning Institute Consultancy of the award in 2008. Mike Glover is the recipient of the 2008 Institution of Structural Engineers Gold Medal, the Evelyn Grace Academy, London designed by Zaha Hadid Architects and Arup won the prestigious RIBA Stirling Prize 2011. Arup was named Tunnel Design Firm of the Year at the 2012 ITA AITES International Tunnelling Awards, Arup Fellow is a lifelong honorary title awarded to selected honorary individuals in the firm. It acknowledges the highest design and technical achievements of people, not only within the firm and they are considered role models who possess world-class expertise who put theory into effective practice. Sir Ove Nyquist Arup, structural engineer and philosopher, founder of the company, recipient of the RIBA Royal Gold Medal for Architecture 1966, peter Dunican, structural engineer, first chairman of Ove Arup Partnership, and President of the Institution of Structural Engineers in 1977 and 1978. Sir Jack Zunz, civil engineer, and principal designer of the Sydney Opera House
7.
West End theatre
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West End theatre is a common term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of Theatreland in and near the West End of London. Along with New York Citys Broadway theatre, West End theatre is considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English-speaking world. Seeing a West End show is a common tourist activity in London, in 2013, ticket sales reached a record 14.4 million, making West End the largest English speaking audience in the world. Famous screen actors frequently appear on the London stage, helen Mirren received an award for her performance as the Queen on the West End stage, and then stated, theatre is such an important part of British history and British culture. Theatre in London flourished after the English Reformation, the first permanent public playhouse, known simply as The Theatre, was constructed in 1576 in Shoreditch by James Burbage. It was soon joined by The Curtain, both are known to have been used by William Shakespeares company. In 1599, the timber from The Theatre was moved to Southwark and these theatres were closed in 1642 due to the Puritans who would later influence the interregnum of 1649. After the Restoration, two companies were licensed to perform, the Dukes Company and the Kings Company, performances were held in converted buildings, such as Lisles Tennis Court. The first West End theatre, known as Theatre Royal in Bridges Street, was designed by Thomas Killigrew and built on the site of the present Theatre Royal and it opened on 7 May 1663 and was destroyed by a fire nine years later. It was replaced by a new designed by Christopher Wren and renamed the Theatre Royal. Outside the West End, Sadlers Wells Theatre opened in Islington on 3 June 1683. Taking its name from founder Richard Sadler and monastic springs that were discovered on the property, it operated as a Musick House, with performances of opera, as it was not licensed for plays. In the West End, the Theatre Royal Haymarket opened on 29 December 1720 on a site north of its current location. The Patent theatre companies retained their duopoly on drama well into the 19th century, by the early 19th century, however, music hall entertainments became popular, and presenters found a loophole in the restrictions on non-patent theatres in the genre of melodrama. Melodrama did not break the Patent Acts, as it was accompanied by music, initially, these entertainments were presented in large halls, attached to public houses, but purpose-built theatres began to appear in the East End at Shoreditch and Whitechapel. The West End theatre district became established with the opening of small theatres and halls. South of the River Thames, the Old Vic, Waterloo Road, the next few decades saw the opening of many new theatres in the West End. It abbreviated its name three years later, the theatre building boom continued until about World War I
8.
Grand Canal Dock
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Since 2000 the area has undergone significant redevelopment as part of the Dublin Docklands area redevelopment project. The Grand Canal Dock area is somewhat disputed and it is generally understood to be bounded by the Liffey to the north, South Lotts Road to the east, Grand Canal Street to the south and Macken Street to the west. Grand Canal Dock contains Grand Canal Dock railway station, the national Waterways Ireland Visitor Centre, the U2 Tower site, and a number of notable buildings. The area has been dubbed Silicon Docks as it has become a popular location for high-tech multinationals such as Google, Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Airbnb. Grand Canal Dock railway station, accessed from Barrow Street, opened in 2001, in early 2014, five new Dublin Bikes stations were opened in the area. The Grand Canal Docks first opened in 1796, at the time they were the worlds largest docks. They fell into decline within just a few decades, due mostly to disuse with the arrival of the railways, the landscape was overwhelmed by Dublin Gas Companys mountains of black coal, along with chemical factories, tar pits, bottle factories and iron foundries. However, bakers and millers maintained business along the edge of the inner basin. By the 1960s, the Grand Canal Docks were almost completely derelict, by 1987, it was decided that Hanover Quay was too toxic to sell. The DDDA spent €52 million decontaminating the land, even though the return was estimated at just €40 million. The decontamination took place under the supervision of the Environmental Protection Agency between 2002 and 2006, the process involved constructing an underground wall eight metres deep around the affected area and the contaminated land dug out and removed. By the time the decontamination was finished, a property bubble and increased demand in the area. The DDDA injected some of its new wealth into the infrastructure including seers, street lighting. On 22 May 2014, it was announced that a planning process was approved by An Bord Pleanala. The authority had forced the band to sell its old riverfront studio on Hanover Quay for a price in 2002 to allow development of the Grand Canal Harbour area. As part of that deal the authority had promised the band the top two floors of the 32-storey tower it was planning to build on an adjacent quay, a project that was put on hold. There will also be three new routes from Barrow St. new civic waterfront square adjacent to the dock. On 12 December 2014, two site plan notices were posted for Targeted Investment Opportunities PLC describing the developments to take place at the former Kilsaran Concrete site at 5 Hanover Quay, one notice is for the construction of a 7 storey office building
9.
Abbey Theatre
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The Abbey Theatre, also known as the National Theatre of Ireland, in Dublin, Republic of Ireland, first opened its doors to the public on 27 December 1904. Despite losing its building to a fire in 1951, it has remained active to the present day. The Abbey was the first state-subsidized theatre in the English-speaking world, since July 1966, the Abbey has been located at 26 Lower Abbey Street, Dublin 1. In its early years, the theatre was associated with the writers of the Irish Literary Revival, many of whom were involved in its founding. The Abbey served as a nursery for many of the leading Irish playwrights and actors of the 20th century, including William Butler Yeats, Lady Gregory, Seán OCasey and John Millington Synge. In addition, through its programme of touring abroad and its high visibility to foreign, particularly American, audiences. The Abbey arose from three bases, the first of which was the seminal Irish Literary Theatre. Founded by Lady Gregory, Edward Martyn and W. B, Yeats in 1899—with assistance from George Moore—it presented plays in the Antient Concert Rooms and the Gaiety Theatre, which brought critical approval but limited public interest. The second base involved the work of two Dublin directors, William and Frank Fay, William worked in the 1890s with a touring company in Ireland, Scotland and Wales, while his brother Frank was involved in amateur dramatics in Dublin. In April 1902, the Fays gave three performances of Æs play Deirdre and Yeats Cathleen Ní Houlihan in a hall in St Theresas Hall on Clarendon Street, the performances played to a mainly working-class audience rather than the usual middle-class Dublin theatregoers. The run was a success, thanks in part to the beauty and force of Maud Gonne. The company continued at the Antient Concert Rooms, producing works by Seumas OCuisin, Fred Ryan, the third base was financial support and experience of Annie Horniman. Horniman was a middle-class Englishwoman with previous experience of production, having been involved in the presentation of George Bernard Shaws Arms. She came to Dublin in 1903 to act as Yeats unpaid secretary and her money helped found the Abbey Theatre and, according to the critic Adrian Frazier, would make the rich feel at home, and the poor—on a first visit—out of place. Encouraged by the St Theresas Hall success, Yeats, Lady Gregory, Æ, Martyn and they were joined by actors and playwrights from Fays company. At first, they staged performances in the Molesworth Hall, on 11 May 1904, the society formally accepted Hornimans offer of the use of the building. As Horniman did not usually reside in Ireland, the letters patent required were granted in the name of Lady Gregory. The founders appointed William Fay theatre manager, responsible for training the actors in the newly established repertory company
10.
Swan Lake
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Swan Lake, Op.20, is a ballet composed by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in 1875–76. Despite its initial failure, it is now one of the most popular of all ballets, the scenario, initially in two acts, was fashioned from Russian folk tales and tells the story of Odette, a princess turned into a swan by an evil sorcerers curse. The choreographer of the production was Julius Reisinger. The ballet was premiered by the Bolshoi Ballet on 4 March 1877 at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, for this revival, Tchaikovskys score was revised by the St. Petersburg Imperial Theatres chief conductor and composer Riccardo Drigo. Many critics have disputed the original source of the Swan Lake story, the libretto is based on a story by the German author Johann Karl August Musäus, Der geraubte Schleier, though this story provides only the general outline of the plot of Swan Lake. The Russian folktale The White Duck also bears resemblance to the story of the ballet. According to Lopukhov, both the plot of Swan Lake, the image of the Swan and the idea of a faithful love are essentially Russian. However, Geltser was in all probability merely the first person to copy the scenario for publication and this ballet featured the famous Leitmotif known as the Swans Theme. The choreographer assigned to the production was the Czech Julius Reisinger and it is not known what sort of collaborative processes were involved between Tchaikovsky and Reisinger. It seems that Tchaikovsky worked with only the most basic outline from Reisinger of the requirements for each dance, Tchaikovsky likely had some form of instruction in composing Swan Lake, as he had to know what sort of dances would be required. But unlike the instructions that Tchaikovsky received for the scores of The Sleeping Beauty and The Nutcracker, when Reisinger began choreographing after the score was completed, he demanded some changes from Tchaikovsky. Whether by demanding the addition or removal of a dance, Reisinger made it clear that he was to be a large part in the creation of this piece. Although the two artists were required to collaborate, each seemed to prefer working as independently of the other as possible, Tchaikovsky studied the music of specialists such as the Italian Cesare Pugni and the Austrian Ludwig Minkus, before setting to work on Swan Lake. Tchaikovsky had a negative opinion of the specialist ballet music until he studied it in detail. Tchaikovsky most admired the music of such composers as Léo Delibes, Adolphe Adam. He would later write to his protégé, the composer Sergei Taneyev, I listened to the Delibes ballet Sylvia. what charm, what elegance, what wealth of melody, rhythm, and harmony. I was ashamed, for if I had known of this music then, Tchaikovsky drew on previous compositions for his Swan Lake score. He made use of material from The Voyevoda, an opera that he had abandoned in 1868, the Grand adage from the second scene of Swan Lake was fashioned from an aria from that opera, as was the Valse des fiancées from the third scene
11.
Grand Canal Dock railway station
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Grand Canal Dock railway station serves the Grand Canal Dock area in Dublin, Ireland. Like several stations in central Dublin, it is elevated above street level, with steps leading down to Barrow Street in South Lotts, the ticket office is open between 06, 00-00,00 AM, Monday to Sunday. Platform 1 is a terminal platform, which became the Northbound main line on 18 July 2016. Platform 2 is the platform for South Western Commuter trains to Newbridge. Platform 3 is the Southbound main line platform, platforms 1 and 2 are accessed by a footbridge and platform 3 has level access. Grand Canal Dock was built on the site of a locomotive shed at Canal Street, across from the engineering works of the Dublin & Kingstown Railway. This station was opened on 23 January 2001, the first station clerk on duty was Mick OGrady and the senior depot man was Nigel McArdle. Grand Canal Dock was Dublins newest station until Docklands Station opened in March 2007, between November 2014 and July 2016 the station underwent a major refurbishment to prepare it to serve South Western Commuter trains to Newbridge, which commenced operations on 21 November 2016. Irish Rail rebuilt platform 1, resurfaced the other platforms, installed new destination displays, platform 1 lacked overhead electric cables and had a permanent sign reading Do not board any trains at platform 1 that was removed in May 2015. Platform 1 was fitted with cables in November 2015. Irish Rail also added a centre road terminating turn-back facility to accommodate southbound trains, the refurbishment of the station itself was completed in May 2015, although major resignalling and track work took place for one more year. The new signalling was commissioned, along with platform 1, on 18 July 2016, list of railway stations in Ireland Irish Rail Grand Canal Dock Station Website
12.
Grant Thornton International
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Grant Thornton International Ltd is a not-for-profit, non-practising, international umbrella membership entity organised as a private company limited by guarantee. Grant Thornton International Ltd is incorporated in London, United Kingdom, according to Grant Thornton International Ltd, member firms within the global organisation operate in over 130 countries. Combined global revenues from member firms in 2015 were US$4.6 billion, there are over 2,500 member firm partners and total member firm personnel of over 42,000. The earliest origins of the date back to 1904, when the UK firm of Thornton. Through a series of changes this firm merged in 1959 with another UK firm, Baker & Co. In the US, 26-year-old Alexander Richardson Grant founded Alexander Grant & Co in Chicago in 1924, Grant had been a senior accountant with Ernst & Ernst. Alexander Grant was committed to providing services to mid-sized companies, when Grant died in 1938, Alexander Grant & Co survived the change in leadership and continued to grow nationally. In 1969, Alexander Grant & Co joined with firms from Australia, Canada, and this organisation operated successfully for 10 years. In 1980 Alexander Grant & Co and Thornton Baker, firms with similar qualities, clients, personnel numbers and values, joined with 49 other firms to form a global organisation, Grant Thornton. In 1986, Alexander Grant & Co and Thornton Baker changed their names to Grant Thornton, reflecting their mutual affiliation, in July 2013, Grant Thornton Johannesburg merged with the local PKF member firm. Although many of the firms now carry the Grant Thornton name, each member firm is a separate national entity, and governs itself and manages its administrative matters independently on a local basis. This is similar to professional services networks. Grant Thornton member firms service international work through their local International Business Centres—located in 40 major commercial centres throughout the world, Grant Thornton Moldova has been accused of incompetence after being the auditor for three of Moldova’s banks involved in the Moldovan bank fraud scandal. The theft was discovered in November 2014 at Unibank, Banca de Economii and Banca Sociala, stephane Bride, one of the managing partners of Grant Thornton in Moldova, was appointed as the Moldovan Minister of Economy after the scandal broke out. Allegedly, the money was embezzled and spirited out of the country in complex financial transactions, the authorities had to rescue the three banks with a bailout equivalent to half the annual budget. None of these allegations have proven and Grant Thornton Moldova did qualify the audit reports for these banks
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