Micheál Martin, leader of Fianna Fáil, was the guest of honour, outlining his party’s attitude to Brexit and proposed initiatives to support the Irish business community.

Mr Martin also joined a panel discussion moderated by Brendan Keenan, former group business editor at Independent Newspapers.

The panellists included Julie Sinnamon, CEO of Enterprise Ireland; Eoin O’Neill, President of the British Irish Chamber of Commerce; Michael Cullen, CEO of Investec; and Ronan Gargan from the UK’s Department of Foreign Affairs & Trade.

Catherine Guy, managing partner of ByrneWallace, said: “In the wake of the Brexit vote last June, we have experienced far greater engagement with Irish and international clients who currently trade with or have operations in the UK and who are seeking assistance in assessing the potential legal and regulatory impact of Brexit on their business, and assistance with their contingency planning.

“It is clear that the Irish business community are highly aware of the issues and are adopting an extremely proactive approach in planning and taking the necessary steps now to future proof their businesses post-Brexit.

“The purpose of this event was to provide our clients with accurate information and insights which may help to inform their decisions.

“By bringing together an expert panel of leading industry experts and state representatives to share their knowledge and experience, we hope to contribute to the thinking on the challenges which Brexit presents and to support Irish businesses in positioning themselves to exploit the opportunities and mitigate any potential risks to their business post-Brexit.”

Julie Sinnamon, CEO of Enterprise Ireland, said: “Events like this seminar hosted by ByrneWallace are important in raising awareness of the need to use the period of the negotiations to prepare for the new trading conditions, post Brexit.

“If we wait until the new trading arrangements become known, we risk losing hard-won global market positions.”