MacCarthy (McCarthy), James Charles Brendan (1908–90), civil servant, was born 22 April 1908 in Dublin, eldest child of James Justin McCarthy, Dublin Metropolitan Police (DMP) constable, and Margaret Teresa McCarthy (née O'Connor). The family name appears as ‘McCarthy’ on his birth certificate. Educated by the Christian Brothers and later at the University of London, he entered the Department of Justice as a clerical officer on leaving school. During the 1930s he worked for the Board of Works and the Department of Finance before becoming secretary to the committee on unemployment. He then served a brief period as private secretary (1940–41) to Seán MacEntee (qv), then minister for finance, before moving to the Department of Supplies, where he served under Seán Lemass (qv) for the remainder of the second world war.
In 1945 he became assistant secretary at the Department of Industry and Commerce (1945–54), during which time he was involved in the creation (1949) of the Industrial Development Authority. Four years later he became the first chairman (1953–5) of the fair trade commission, which was established to investigate restrictive trade practices and their impact on the economy. Under his chairmanship the commission issued several reports into restrictive practices within industries such as the radio trade and the supply and distribution of building materials. In 1954 he was appointed deputy secretary in Industry and Commerce, and the following year he became chairman (1955–6) of Irish Steel Holdings Ltd.
After two years as deputy secretary (1954–6) he was appointed secretary of Industry and Commerce in 1956, a post he held until his retirement (1972). During his long period of service he played a significant role in developing the Irish insurance industry through the creation of Irish Life. Unlike their British counterparts operating in Ireland, Irish insurers such as Irish Life were legally obliged to invest all their funds in Ireland. Vital sources of investment were leaving the country through the British insurers. He therefore convinced the British insurance companies operating in Ireland to invest 50 per cent of their funds in Irish industry for a period of ten years, thereby securing vital funds for the development of the Irish economy.
As secretary to Industry and Commerce he became convinced that membership of the European Economic Community was vital for the further development of the Irish economy. His chairmanship of the fair trade commission had taught him that the removal of trade barriers was necessary to both stimulate trade and gain entry to the European Economic Community (EEC), and he was a major driving force behind the early negotiations on Irish membership of the EEC. He also represented the Irish government at the Organisation for European Economic Cooperation (later the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development).
He retired from the civil service in April 1972, a month before the Irish referendum on membership of the EEC. Apart from his career as a civil servant, he was a director of Norwich Union, Waterford Iron Foundry, the Corn Products Corporation, and Taisci Stait. In his later years he lived at 19 Court Flats, Wilton Place, Dublin 2. He died 6 October 1990.
He married (1932) Jane Francis Madden. They had three daughters and two sons; the eldest daughter died in childhood.