Dublin Chamber of Commerce is one of the olest such organisations in Europe and traces its origins back to the Autumn of 1695 when the Dublin shipping company of Ferris, Twiggs and Cash sent their vessel Ouzel Galley on an important trading journey to the near-Eastern Seas. With provisions, a crew of 37 men, and three officers aboard, the vessel set sail. Having been gone for over three years, and with no news of the ship and crew, the insurance policy on the ship was cashed in on the assumption that all had been lost at sea.