Birth: Dublin, 1936
Education: Belvedere College, University College Dublin, the Incorporated Law Society of Ireland and University of Bradford, England
Hobbies: Rugby, Art

Sir Anthony O’Reilly, 70, is chairman and controlling shareholder of Independent Newspapers (IN&M). The company has around 200 national and regional titles in total, manages gross assets of €3.9 billion, has a turnover of over €1.8 billion and employs over 11,000 people worldwide. O’Reilly is a former chairman, president and CEO of HJ Heinz Company and a former member of the board of the New York Stock Exchange. He is also chairman of Waterford Wedgwood and Eircom. His family has a 72% stake in Acron International Resources. After a successful career playing rugby for his country, O’Reilly moved into business. He became the general manager of Ireland’s Milk Marketing Board and developed the Kerrygold brand. He was also the first foreigner to be appointed chairman of Heinz, from which he retired in 2000.

Birth: Cork, 1950
Education: Scoil Mhuire in Marino and Good Counsel College in New Ross
Hobbies: Golf

Fifty five-year-old Dermot Desmond founded NCB in 1981 and grew the business to become Ireland’s largest independent stockbroker. In 1994 he sold NCB to the National Westminster Bank (now The Royal Bank of Scotland). He was also the original promoter of the IFSC, which now has 400 companies operating in Dublin’s docklands. Prior to founding International Investment and Underwriting (IIU) in 1995, he established a number of software companies serving the financial services sector. Desmond is the largest shareholder in Celtic football club (41%) and owns London City Airport. He co-owns the Sandy Lane Hotel in Barbados and The Sporting Emporium in Dublin city centre. Desmond, who is a tax exile in Gibraltar, has significant stakes in several other companies including Vivas and Daon.

Birth: 1948
Education: Glenstal Abbey, County Limerick but had to leave school at 15
Hobbies: Art

John Magnier worked on the family stud farm, following the death of his father. He built the farm into a multi-million international business called Coolmore Stud. It is based in County Tipperary and has branches in Versailles, Kentucky and Australia. Magnier, who left school at the age of 15, has ruthlessly built up the Coolmore racing empire over three decades and is considered to be the most influential man in horseracing and breeding worldwide. He also has a large number of very successful non-bloodstock investments, mostly outside of Ireland. Together with business associate JP McManus he built up a 28.89% shareholding in Manchester United,which was sold in May 2005 to Malcolm Glazer. Magnier has stakes in Devro and Barchester. He also partly-owns the Sandy Lane hotel in Barbados and homes in Co Tipperary, Spain and Switzerland, where he is resident for tax purposes.

Birth: Co Tipperary, 1936
Education: Trinity College, the National University of Ireland and the University of Limerick
Hobbies: Art

Tony Ryan is seen as the most significant figure in the history of Irish air transport. He turned aircraft leasing and finance into a global business that is now key to fleet development by airlines worldwide. He founded Ryanair in 1985, an airline that has redefined the passenger airline business and is the fastest growing airline in Europe. Indeed the progress of Ryanair over the last 20 years mirrors the progress of the national economy. Ryan also famously mentored, probably the two most successful young Irish entrepreneurs of their generation who earlier worked as personal assistants to him: Michael O’Leary and Dennis O’Brien. He also pledged a €10 million investment fund for entrepreneurs at the DCU Ryan Academy for Entrepreneurship.

Birth: Limerick, 1951
Education: Trinity College, the National University of Ireland and the University of Limerick
Hobbies: Horse Racing, Hurling, Golfing and Football

Legendary gambler and major racehorse owner, JP McManus has an alleged personal fortune of €571 million, of which around €370 million has been garnered by playing the foreign exchange markets. The former bookie is also one of the world’s top racehorse owners, with more than 100 horses in training. He also has stakes in Barchester (a nursing home operator), Next Generation (a sports club chain) and the Sandy Lane hotel in Barbados. He has a stud in Newmarket, Co Kildare. In 2005, he sold his stake in Manchester United along with business associate John Magnier. Born in Limerick, McManus began his business career at his family’s construction plant hire firm, and then became an on-course bookmaker at Limerick’s greyhound track, where his explosive exploits earned him the nickname the ‘Sundance Kid.’ McManus is also an avid golfer having partnered Irish Ryder Cup star Padraig Harrington to victory in the prestigious Dunhill Links Championship in Scotland in September. He has played and beaten Tiger Woods when the two met in a head-to-head match at Limerick Golf Club.

Birth: Co Fermanagh, 1946

Now 57 years of age, Sean Quinn, who started off his business selling sand and gravel from his family’s back garden in Derrylin, Co Fermanagh, in the early 1970s, is one of the richest men in Ireland. Quinn is a serial entrepreneur with his conglomerate, the Quinn Group, having interests in the manufacture of cement, concrete and insulation products as well as container glass and the provision of general insurance through its Quinn-direct Insurance division. In addition the group has a large property portfolio consisting of hotels, pubs and a fitness club. The group owns various pubs and also owns the Slieve Russell Hotel in Cavan, Buswells in Dublin, the Hilton and Ibis in Prague and the Belfry hotel and golf course in England, amongst others.

Birth: Lancashire, 1936
Education: Clongowes Wood College
Hobbies: Golf

Michael Smurfit joined his father’s company when he was 19. More than two decades later he as appointed chairman and CEO of Jefferson Smurfit Group (JSG). He retired in November 2002 but still holds the position of chairman. In the time that he was in charge of the company, he transformed it into a global giant. This shrewd businessman has experienced nothing short of one remarkable success after another. Over the years JSG expanded hugely by a series of expansions and has become a global conglomerate. Dr Smurfit is a Fellow of the International Academy of Management and is also the honorary Irish consul to Monaco.

Birth: Co Louth, 1938
Education: De La Salle College, Dundalk
Hobbies: Art

Martin Naughton is the founder and group executive chairman of Glen Dimplex, which has an annual turnover of €1.5 billion and employs 8,500 people, including 2,000 in Ireland. The company is one of the world’s biggest electrical appliances manufacturers whose brands include Goblin and Morphy Richards. In 2004, Naughton bought out his partner Lochlann Quinn’s 26% stake to take outright control in the privately owned company. An investor with Quinn in the fivestar Merrion Hotel in Dublin, Naughton is also chairman of InterTradeIreland. He has also provided the funding for the Martin Naughton chair of business strategy in the school of management at Queen’s University Belfast.

Birth: 1959
Education: University College Dublin and Boston College
Hobbies: Nature Walks, Boating

Denis O’Brien, 47, has built his Digicel mobile phone company into one of the largest in the Caribbean in just over five years. His other company, Communicorp Group, owns and operates 31 commercial radio stations in 6 European countries. In 1991, he established Esat Telecom in Ireland, which became the first company to compete against the former state-owned telephone company, Telecom Eireann (now eircom). In 2001, O’Brien sold Esat Telecom to British Telecom for $2.9 billion (€2.3 billion). O’ Brien also owns the worldrenowned golfing and property resort, Quinta do Lago S.A. in the Algarve, Portugal. He has also strengthened his golfing investments through the purchase of PGA European tour courses. Denis O’Brien is a director and shareholder of numerous other companies including Bank of Ireland, Media Lab Europe, e-via Spa (Italy) and 360 Networks (Canada). He recently purchased 3% of Independent News and Media (IN&M).

Birth: 1961
Education: Clongowes Wood College, Trinity College, Dublin (did not graduate)
Hobbies: Horse riding and farming

O’Leary, 45, is among Ireland’s richest men, with an estimated fortune of €397 million. While working as a tax consultant in KPMG, he met Ryanair’s founder, Tony Ryan, who employed O’Leary as a ‘financial guide’ advising on tax and investments. Ever since Tony Ryan asked O’Leary to take over his ailing carrier in 1993, O’Leary has never looked back and made Ryanair into the fastest growing airline in Europe. He has been the public face of the airline since becoming the boss in 1994. This year Ryanair will carry over 35 million passengers on 288 low fare routes across 21 European countries. The airline currently employs a team of 2700 people. O’Leary is the carrier’s biggest individual shareholder with an estimated stake worth €232 million. Other indulgences include a Westmeath estate where he breeds prize cattle, and a house in Dublin.