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Thousands attended Sunday's rally in Ballyconnell, Co Cavan Niall Carson/PA Wire/Press Association Images

Column Why are people supporting Seán Quinn? Well, it’s an Irish tradition

We might find the rallies in support of Seán Quinn shocking – but there are simple reasons for it, writes Eoin O’Malley.

AT A TIME when many in Ireland are baying for the blood of Seán FitzPatrick, the sight of thousands of people demonstrating their desire for ‘justice’ for the bankrupt former billionaire businessman Seán Quinn might cause a casual observer of Ireland to think that they want to see him imprisoned for the contempt he has shown the Irish state, the Irish courts and perhaps most importantly the Irish people.

That he mismanaged his insurance business to such an extent that it led directly to all Irish insurance consumers paying an insurance levy of two per cent (but this will probably increase to four per cent); that he was the central figure in the illegal loans designed to prop up Anglo Irish Bank when it was becoming obvious that the bank was little more than a pyramid scheme; that he was a property speculator with half a billion euros worth of loans would all add to the expectation that the demonstration was hostile to Quinn.

This impression that by ‘justice’ for Seán Quinn, the crowd was hoping to string him up from the nearest lamppost would have been supported by the fact that a phalanx of those who represent ‘real’ Ireland – the Catholic Church, the GAA and Sinn Féin – endorsed the calls for ‘justice’.

When that casual observer of Irish society discovers that in fact the crowd was there to support Seán Quinn and his family, she might wonder what is wrong with Ireland and the Irish. The support shown to Quinn by thousands of people in Cavan last Sunday, I think rightly, offends many people. The reaction to an excellent article by Fintan O’Toole highlights how deeply shocked at least some parts of Irish society are at the support Quinn got in Cavan.

Local chief

It seems to show a disrespect for the law, for the position of ordinary Irish people, a lack of solidarity and a lack of understanding of the mess we’re in and how we got here.
Many will think it typical of an Irish culture of loyalty to the local chief. We will think of how many people in Tipperary still vote for Michael Lowry in such numbers regardless of controversy over his actions in office or we’ll think of how Beverley Flynn also managed a comfortable re-election after an outcry in some areas over her dealings with the Revenue.

We assume it’s something to do with Irish political culture, where we tend to treat any offence to a local as an offence to the locality. The wagons are circled – we protect our own. He may be a fool/thug/crook (delete as appropriate) but he’s our fool/thug/crook.
This is the ‘amoral localism’ that the late political scientist, Peter Mair referred to. We can explicitly see this in the reaction of some senior GAA figures, where they say that Quinn is a GAA man and that the GAA stands by its own.

Many in urban Ireland assume this is a trait peculiar to traditional Ireland. I wonder if Seán Quinn were being prosecuted by the British, and had he brought down a British bank, how we would have reacted.

Then maybe we think this blind loyalty as a peculiarly Irish trait. I’m not sure that it is. But even that famous Irish loyalty to the tribe is not as strong as we sometimes think. It is not an unconditional loyalty. Consider of how quickly the famously loyal Fianna Fáil dumped Bertie Ahern as soon as he no longer fulfilled the party’s needs.

‘Witch hunt’

The observation that the support for Quinn in Cavan is a pathology of our culture is too simplistic.

Most people in Cavan if asked about the Quinn situation in abstract terms, I suspect, would agree that what this businessman did was a disgrace and that he should be pursued for all his assets. But we, all of us, are suckers for a story. Add the personal story and it’s different. And Seán Quinn has a good story.

He’s one of us, a man of the soil, (he was even described as a True Gael – whatever that means) who, through hard work built a vast business empire. And unlike others who did it, he never left his roots. He gave the impression of being a simple man, who was being persecuted, and worse whose family – including ‘a simple housewife’ – was being pursued in a state-sponsored ‘witch hunt’. He can argue, however implausibly, that he was willing to work to build up his empire again, but he wasn’t even allowed to try.

I wonder if Quinn had been exposed as a paedophile, what would the reaction have been? I suspect there would have been little sympathy for him, because we now ‘understand’ that crime. It’s less easy to fathom contracts for difference.

We also forget that Seán Quinn has a huge impact on Cavan. Pass through Cavan town and it is obvious. He owned everything, and that which he didn’t own he sponsored. When most people either worked for Quinn or lived with someone who worked for Quinn he is going to be popular. When his businesses collapsed as a result of what I would see as Quinn’s stupid business decisions and greed, it wasn’t Seán Quinn who let the staff go, it was a receiver. What Quinn gave to the town is tangible, and has his name all over it – literally.

What he has taken away is of course much greater, but it’s less clearly associated with Quinn, and the pain is also spread out among Irish people as a whole. The same is true of Michael Lowry and the Flynn family. They delivered for their constituency and are rewarded for that. So Cavan isn’t that peculiar – not in that way, at least!

Eoin O’Malley teaches Irish politics at the School of Law and Government, Dublin City University. He is the author of Contemporary Ireland (Palgrave 2011).

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120 Comments
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    Mute Celtic Lady
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    Aug 3rd 2012, 7:30 AM

    Acheivements don’t necessarily mean the person is automatically right nor does being a big employer / nice man / pillar of society exempt you from observing the law of the land.

    227
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    Mute Anel Cceram
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    Aug 3rd 2012, 7:58 AM

    There maybe law but no justice

    30
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    Mute KarlMarcks
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    Aug 3rd 2012, 8:28 AM

    The Mafia is a big employer which does a lot in terms of sponsoring good causes. The Don is often much admired in his locality.

    So, they should be allowed get on with their gangsterism and murderous illegality?

    149
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    Mute Simon Gaites
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    Aug 3rd 2012, 8:15 AM

    Quinn should have stuck to selling cement.

    104
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    Mute Mark Nolan
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    Aug 3rd 2012, 11:02 AM

    he be stuck in cement!

    17
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    Mute Punt Nua
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    Aug 3rd 2012, 8:27 AM

    Kicking a man when he’s down is also another Irish tradition, this is what the banks and the politicians ate doing to the real ‘ordinary’ families of Ireland. Remember you will be paying 2% for the next 20 years on EVERY insurance policy you take out because of #Quinn

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    Mute Punt Nua
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    Aug 3rd 2012, 8:32 AM

    Don’t feel sorry for #Quinn they believe they are above the law and are in contempt of the Justice system… Remover they own HALF A BILLION EURO in property and the money borrowed from Anglo was to add to that portfolio, not to create jobs

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    Mute mcbab
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    Aug 3rd 2012, 8:31 AM

    Thanks Paul for the link to that article. It is the most well written one I have seen on this subject. Gambling, which is effectively what Quinn did, can cause ruin in anybody’s life, his ruin is just on a more massive scale.

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    Mute Rocco
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    Aug 3rd 2012, 7:19 AM

    Quinn never set out to hurt anybody. People didn’t complain while they were getting paid out. It’s only when the golden goose stops laying that people grumble. The people who support him possess a quality that is sadly lacking in modern day Ireland-loyalty.

    71
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    Mute Paul
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    Aug 3rd 2012, 7:29 AM

    Whether he set out to hurt anyone or not is irrelevant. The fact of the matter is his and his family’s actions did hurt a lot of people and will continue hurting the country for a long time. The infantile tribalism of those that support him is astounding.

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    Mute limofax
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    Aug 3rd 2012, 7:50 AM

    The people who support him possess a quality that is sadly abundant in Irish society – stupidity!

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    Mute Stray Mutt
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    Aug 3rd 2012, 10:08 AM

    I think Sean Quinn is being made a scape goat.
    There are people in this country who have got off scot free.
    One that immediately comes to mind is Bertie Ahern.
    Why was he not investigated in a similar fashion.
    He and his political party were the ones responsible for regulation of the banks.
    It is a lack of regulation in so many ways that has Ireland where it is now.

    67
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    Mute Chris Whyte
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    Aug 3rd 2012, 10:16 AM

    Would those people showing negativity towards the quinns be described as anti-cementic?

    116
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    Mute Too Trueleft
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    Aug 3rd 2012, 10:30 AM

    funny you should mention bertie, stray mutt. Another powerful man who left a trail of destruction for the taxpayer to clear up who claims he’s the victim of a witch hunt.

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    Mute HARRY MARKOPOLOS
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    Aug 3rd 2012, 10:44 AM

    ”I wonder if Quinn had been exposed as a paedophile” Eoin?

    Has the media really stooped that low?

    Is IBRC paying the media that much?

    31
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    Mute Ignoreland
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    Aug 3rd 2012, 11:58 AM

    Eh Rocco, there’s too much loyalty in Ireland- that’s the problem. That’s why almost 1 in 5 people voted FF in the last election even though they ruined the country.
    The only thing you should be loyal to are your principles.
    And as for Quinn not hurting anybody; he hurts my bank balance due to the 2% on my insurance that everyone in the State has to pay.
    And if you ask me he’s hurting the rule of law in this country by acting as if he’s above it, showing absolute contempt for the state.

    81
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    Mute Charles Windsor
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    Aug 4th 2012, 11:11 AM

    The most noble of people are those who stand by a friend who’s in a crisis. The most vacuous are the bellyachers, the fickle friends that we could all do without.

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    Mute Alan Lawlor
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    Aug 4th 2012, 6:46 PM

    What loyalty did Sean Quinn show to ordinary people when he greedily gambled with what was in effect OTHER people’s money – the livelihoods of the people in Cavan/Fermanagh who worked for him, for those seriously injured in car crashes whose rightful compensation was being put in jeopardy (that’s what the insurance reserves that he plundered were for), disabled people seeing their benefits cut and every man, woman, child and their children and grandchildren who must now pay back the Germans for loans taken by the state to prevent the entire country from collapsing, due in part to his greedy gambling with no sense of loyalty to anyone else in this country.
    Then when those people (the Government, IBRC and other debtors) come looking for their money back (money they are rightfully due) from the (still not inconsiderable) wealth he and his family still hold in foreign assets, he says is he is being victimised.
    Rocco – if you took out a loan in 2007 for 100k and used it to buy shares in Anglo to make money for yourself and then lost heavily. If you did it in such a risky way as to buy contracts for difference which meant that not only did you lose the 100k, but put all of the rest of your assets up as collateral to increase potential gains. On the other hand, let’s say you are the pillar of your community, having given generous sums to charity, getting involved in voluntary noble schemes. You would still expect to have to take personal responsibility for your debts ? Debts which now, if left unpaid, are contributing to the suffering of others.

    12
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    Mute gingerman
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    Aug 3rd 2012, 9:10 AM

    Rural Ireland needs to take its head out of its arse and smell the coffee. Your children have been raped by the church and their futures destroyed by corrupt politicians and gombeen business men. It’s time for a change guys. Help us all to move on!

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    Mute Paddy O Donnell
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    Aug 3rd 2012, 10:52 AM

    wtf?!

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    Mute Scarr
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    Aug 3rd 2012, 9:08 AM

    Great article. The actions of that group of cavan people are bizarre with their ‘poor Sean Quinn’ attitude, truly backward. I also would not be surprised of some slight anti- Dublin bias as part of their reason for support – ‘those lads in dublin picking on our Sean.’ kind of attitude, it’s sickening to see such blind stupidity.

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    Mute Paul Ringrose
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    Aug 3rd 2012, 11:32 AM

    Yes ,notice how the demonstrators play up the Anglo part of the name of the name of the now non existent bank as well . Its extraordinary to watch predators like Ahern ,Lowry and now Quinn whinging weeping and playing the victim in public like naughty toddlers caught in the sugar bowl .Quinn is the only one who has a campaign of terrorism and sabotage conducted in support of him as well .Not that he has any knowledge of that of course .

    18
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    Mute Chris lynch
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    Aug 3rd 2012, 9:10 AM

    Can’t believe that amount of support this man is getting. He has opening admitted to trying to move assets away from US the taxpayer. He used Money from this companies which was not his to buy these CFds in Anglo.

    So what if he created thousands of jobs for whole families. Anglo, AIB, BOI, PTSB etc. all created thousands of jobs around the country but that doesn;t mean I’ll be jumping to their defence.

    What Sean done was stupid and his bet didn’t pay out. He was not betting on Anglo to create more jobs for the Zombies in Cavan/Fermanagh area that would probably follow him off a cliff, he was doing this for the sole purpuse to make more money for himself and his family. Having Billions was not enought for this man and it is his greed and very very very very very bad judgement that got him into the place he is now.

    61
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    Mute Charlie Bucket
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    Aug 3rd 2012, 10:43 AM

    The ‘Let’s back the winning horse’ sentiment here is hilarious. It is so easy to criticise Quinn. Let’s jump on the bandwagon!. And the personal references to anyone that might not jump on such bandwagons….’stupid’, ‘zombies’, …..
    Right back at ya!
    Try http://www.oneworldchronicle.com…..Good article on Quinn. The Quinn bashers may find it difficult to read but sure give it a go….

    5
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    Mute Charlie Bucket
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    Aug 3rd 2012, 11:13 AM

    Sorry that link didn’t come through properly….it is a Friday day after all…
    I’ll have another try…https://foolscrow.wordpress.com/2012/08/02/the-systematic-plundering-of-sean-quinn-people-of-ireland-beware-the-vampire-banks-have-their-fangs-in-you-too/

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    Mute Tonya Maguire
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    Aug 3rd 2012, 11:40 AM

    Nice article. I don’t know if a agree with all of it, but I do think the Quinn family are the fall guys for the mistakes of the government and Anglo.
    “looking at it dispassionately, there is a very strong case that he would have paid off all his so-called debts to Anglo if he had been left alone to run his money-making Quinn Group. But the greed and avarice of special interests combined with Machiavellian politics”.
    What Anglo’s PR team are working on night and day is trying to distract people of its own wrong doings and making Sean Quinn a scapegoat. Quinn had a viable plan, passed by Deutsche Bank, that would have paid back his 2.8 billion euro in 7 years.
    Remember – Anglo were overexposed to property, Anglo falsified accounts, Anglo didn’t approve the above plan. I for one can understand why people turned out in their thousands to support Mr Quinn and his family.

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    Mute mattoid
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    Aug 3rd 2012, 12:23 PM

    Unfortunately Tonya, the high court didn’t consider it to be a viable plan as it involved another huge gamble with taxpayer’s money.

    12
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    Mute Justiceforall Quinn
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    Aug 3rd 2012, 1:36 PM

    The plan was not a dream – it had been approved and verified independantly.

    A Guarantee of €600m V 1.65bn – a No Brainer – but you should ask your local politician for verification of why it was not considered.

    6
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    Mute stephen rogers
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    Aug 3rd 2012, 8:15 AM

    Great article

    58
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    Mute Conor Gallagher
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    Aug 3rd 2012, 8:46 AM

    Some good points. If it was Royal Bank of Scotland, the High Court in London and PD Quinn slipped south of the border, he probably would never have to buy a pint for himself again. (The fact that muppets who “support” the Quinns will happily pay 2-4% extra on their insurance also speaks volumes about their attitude to insurance claims and any common fund eg taxation – it ain’t what you put in, but what ye can get out of it that counts).

    55
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    Mute Anel Cceram
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    Aug 3rd 2012, 9:56 AM

    Not a muppet, great point any one who disagrees with your blatant stupidity is a tv star!!

    5
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    Mute Paul Moore
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    Aug 3rd 2012, 10:26 AM

    @Anel. Just in case you missed it above. Have you read this:

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-19063419

    Would love to know your thoughts on it.

    22
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    Mute Mark Nolan
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    Aug 3rd 2012, 11:10 AM

    Anal won’t reply, neither will Eilish or any of the other Quinn-loving Muppets. They are incapable of direct debate when the facts are so damning against them. Towing the Border County party line is the order of the day.

    30
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    Mute Paul Moore
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    Aug 3rd 2012, 11:49 AM

    @Mark. I love how they don’t allow things like facts get in the way of their opinions.

    23
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    Mute the truth hurts
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    Aug 3rd 2012, 7:19 AM

    Your arrogance in writing this article is breathtaking. Obvious that Anglo was bust…google “hindsight bias”. When you have achieved a fraction of what Sean Quinn has, then I will respect you.

    53
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    Mute Peter 66
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    Aug 3rd 2012, 7:29 AM

    Here we go …. The emperor quinns new clothes…

    221
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    Mute Paul Lanigan
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    Aug 3rd 2012, 9:18 AM

    Your stupidity is breathtaking. It’s because of the likes of Quinn that Anglo is bust.

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    Mute Robert McKenna
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    Aug 3rd 2012, 10:08 AM

    To be fair on the author of this article he has almost certainly not achieved a charge on the state and its people anything like the corrupt, lying, incompetent Quinn has. His business had feet of clay from the start. He has no way of paying back the gambles he made other than having us taxpayers and insurance buyers do it for him. Don’t expect to receive any respect until you get up from your servile stoop, doffing your cap to your perceived better. Quinn is a curse on this country. One that we will rue for many years. Every time somebody dies in a filthy understaffed, ill equipped hospital ward.

    84
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    Mute Glyn Carragher
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    Aug 3rd 2012, 10:49 AM

    @ “The Truth Hurts” The truth does hurt. What Mr Quinn has achieved is a debt burden on the State and the citizens of the State, “Us !” If you would like to have an up close look at Mr Quinn and his friends achievements then I suggest you have a look at the closed hospital wards, have a chat with a disabled person who has had his disability curtailed or cancelled or perhaps give one of the thousands of emigrants a call and see how they feel about him. Everywhere about you are the miserable results of the corruption and greed of Mr Quinn and his friends. To even have a shred of respect for what Mr Quinn has “achieved” is nothing short of some form of sadistic pleasure. When a man steals your wallet you call him a criminal, but when a man steals your country and your children’s future you call him a hero? Time to give up this “created jobs” nonsense, Enron created jobs too.

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    Mute HARRY MARKOPOLOS
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    Aug 3rd 2012, 10:53 AM

    It’s O.K. guys.

    A corrupt bank that ran up €32 billion (and counting) in taxpayer debt is going after Quinn for you.

    In fact you are going to be relying on them to tell you exactly what happened and how they are progressing with the task at hand.

    You are all safe now.

    20
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    Mute Ignoreland
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    Aug 3rd 2012, 12:00 PM

    The Truth Hurts has to be the most Orwellian user name I’ve heard

    23
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    Mute Eimear Smith
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    Aug 3rd 2012, 9:55 AM

    It was embarrassing to watch all those people at the ‘Quinn Rally’ and their misplaced loyalties. Nevermind the GAA men who have no business getting involved and lending some sort of credence to the whole thing. It’s more frustrating to think that when issues on children’s rights, elderly abuse, gay marriage etc those very people wont show the same level of outrage and start marching for justice….

    51
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    Mute Damocles
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    Aug 3rd 2012, 10:09 AM

    Yes, Eimear, it’s almost as if people are motivated solely by self interest.

    20
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    Mute cool
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    Nov 8th 2012, 2:17 PM

    h

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    Mute Anel Cceram
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    Aug 3rd 2012, 7:56 AM

    Quinn left insurance company a huge profitable business the levy is to pay the crooks who have mismanaged it since it was taken over. I am not from Cavan but know how to read and support Quinn and Irish Business 100%. If this was as simple as you say why are Kenny, Covney and Brian Hayes personally attacking and interfering. The bigger picture here is how corrupt our country and judiciary have become

    33
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    Mute Paul
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    Aug 3rd 2012, 8:03 AM
    78
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    Mute Simon
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    Aug 3rd 2012, 8:15 AM

    That’s just incorrect… Quinn bet the house on Anglo and lost, jazz it up any way you want, he got greedy and now everyone else is paying the price

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    Mute Ian Breslin
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    Aug 3rd 2012, 8:19 AM

    You clearly know nothing of the insurance industry or even reality if you think Quinn left his company in a good position. He ran it into the ground and started doing so a long time ago

    158
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    Mute boildyeggs
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    Aug 3rd 2012, 8:31 AM

    Thanks for the link Paul, I have found myself frustrated by an inability to to try and explain here on the journal why supporting this crook is beyond comprehension. That article does it perfectly. Cheers.

    102
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    Mute Aisling Doyle
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    Aug 3rd 2012, 8:41 AM

    Agree with u , this county love to witch hunt .

    16
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    Mute Chris lynch
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    Aug 3rd 2012, 9:13 AM

    @Paul – great link. I would like a Quinn Follower to read the article and respond to the main bullet points and explain how you can still support a man like that.

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    Mute Paul Lanigan
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    Aug 3rd 2012, 9:41 AM

    Hey Anel – what’s your take on the article Paul submitted? If you are open minded you’ll have read it by now. Just In case…..http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-19063419

    32
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    Mute Paul Moore
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    Aug 3rd 2012, 10:19 AM

    @ Paul. Great article. A very concise objective summary of the facts. How anyone can read that and claim that Sean Quinn did nothing wrong is beyond me. We’re still awaiting Anel’s reply.

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    Mute Mick Collins
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    Aug 3rd 2012, 10:39 AM

    Anal stop behaving in the same manner as your name.

    18
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    Mute Paul
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    Aug 3rd 2012, 11:32 AM

    I would love to sit down all the Quinn supporters, de-wax their hairy ears and make them read that article.

    19
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    Mute Ignoreland
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    Aug 3rd 2012, 12:02 PM

    “Quinn left insurance company a huge profitable business”
    That logic is the same as saying “When I left the bomb behind, it hadn’t exploded, therefore it’s not my fault when it did, notwithstanding the fact that I set the timer”.

    34
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    Mute mattoid
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    Aug 3rd 2012, 12:17 PM

    Anel has gone very quiet – maybe he has finally seen Quinnspin for what it is…

    24
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    Mute Sheelah
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    Aug 3rd 2012, 12:41 PM

    The nature of general insurance is that it takes a number of years for losses to show. It may have appeared profitable, that does not mean that it actually was, once losses came out of the woodwork.

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    Mute themamba1
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    Aug 3rd 2012, 9:57 AM

    I can’t believe the support for this family. They along with a few buddies have brought this country to its knees.
    He might have created a couple of thousand jobs in the past, but look at the 200,000 thousand plus that’s on the dole now!
    Waken up people – I know it’s Race Week in Galway, but take off the blinkers!

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    Mute Charlie Bucket
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    Aug 3rd 2012, 10:37 AM

    ‘They along with a few buddies??’ So it is Quinn’s fault now that so many are on the dole?? Anything else to add to the list???

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    Mute Arbitrasure
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    Aug 3rd 2012, 10:50 AM

    I’d have some sympathy for Quinn if it seemed like he actually believed his own propaganda and alternative reality.
    But watching him on Vincent Brown the other night it was obvious that he is struggling to keep up the charade much longer.

    He seemed to be a terrible example of that Irish ‘gift of the gab’ of talking around in circles in sentences that don’t really mean anything, if decoded are ultimately factually inaccurate, but SOUND like they mean something plausible. I hope we lose that trait as a nation; it does massive damage to the credibility of any Irish person trying to business overseas if they present themselves in such a manner.

    Convinces the people of Cavan alright, but that’s a different problem.

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    Mute HARRY MARKOPOLOS
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    Aug 3rd 2012, 11:04 AM

    I think Quinn he came across real well.

    With an attitude of
    ”what do you want to know”
    ” and lets take our time and sit down and discuss the facts”
    I got the impression that VB was urgently ushering him through his specific questions and agenda.
    But I got the impression from Quinn that he would have no problem coming back the following night and the following night and more nights if necessary to explain the facts, unlike some of the others involved who refuse point blank to go on the show ( including some of our public representatives).

    Its strange that Sean Fitzpatrick wont go on Vincent Browne although he is best friends with TV3′s owner Denis O’Brien.

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    Mute Brian Daly
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    Aug 3rd 2012, 2:49 PM

    Doughty Hanson a venture capital company owns TV3 and not Denis O’Brien.

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    Mute HARRY MARKOPOLOS
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    Aug 3rd 2012, 4:37 PM

    Sorry yes apologies he does’t own TV3.

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    Mute Robert Craven
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    Aug 3rd 2012, 2:13 PM

    an excellent article and it’s easy to jump on the wagon here, but it is a simple fact – Quinn gambled everything, risking all of his employees futures whose welfare never crossed his mind. He got burned and welched on the bet and brought to court where he was found to have broken the law. The only thing that’s sad is all his employees still support his gamble and ‘feel’ for him. As for the GAA, the Fermanagh team should be black-listed or thrown out of the championship, if they love the Republic so much they should respect the bench warrant for Peter Quinn. If he shows up on their grounds, the stewards should escort him to the border and hand him over to the Police force here.

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    Mute Chris O'Brien
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    Aug 3rd 2012, 2:29 PM

    It’s typical of parochial Ireland ! If it does affect us in our small community it doesn’t matter. Well it does matter, he is openly in contempt of the law of our country, and should be held to account. All technicality and spin aside, He borrowed money and didn’t pay it back, and then when they came to collect what they were owed he hid it! If the man on the street, even a Quinn street did the same they’d be pursued to the ends of the earth , and these are people that don’t have the money and assets that this deluded charlatan has. The only valid point he has is that there are other people, similar to him, that owe money, and yes,they too should be pursued. But let’s not fool ourselves, he is responsible for us, the tax payer,owing billions! Let’s just cop on, robin hood Quinn is not the champion of the people he wants us to believe he is. He is a gambler, that bet big and lost, and now if running from his debts, and who is te ultimate victim of him, us !!

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    Mute Sean O Gorman
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    Aug 3rd 2012, 3:48 PM

    The end game is this. I am paying for his and others greed. I am 63 years old. I have had to bail out the PMPA and AIB in the past. Did I ever receive one penny from either …. no way…. so I am now having to pay for Quinns and Berties stupidity and greed. Will I ever see a penny of it… no way… will my pension suffer… you can bet it will….. And yet we have some who see no wrong in what he and the rest did. Is he on the dole ?????? yeah right
    So Sean Quinn and the rest of your cohorts dont expect any sympathy from me.

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    Mute Paddy O Donnell
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    Aug 3rd 2012, 8:49 AM

    how about supporting the man who employed whole families. loyalty is something to be admired not mocked and ridiculed.

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    Mute Paul Lanigan
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    Aug 3rd 2012, 9:26 AM

    That’s not loyalty, that’s sub servitude. I can understand the people he employed being grateful and the people he supported being loyal. The problem is that we are now all paying for it.

    Where’s Quinn loyalty to the state he helped bring to its knees. It’s in a bank account as far away from the people who now have to pick up the tab for his greed and recklessness

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    Mute Niall Dooley
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    Aug 3rd 2012, 9:44 AM

    A Lowry supporter too no doubt!

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    Mute Paddy O Donnell
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    Aug 3rd 2012, 10:25 AM

    i’m from the other half of the county! sean quinn has not brought the country to its knees! maybe cause its in the news lately but have people forgotten about michael fingleton sean fitzpatrick, the previous goverments, anglo, ptsb, aib etc and their willingness to loan people money who never could repay it, be it a business venture or over inflated house price. people were greedy and lots of people are now paying the price. i maybe wrong but the chance sean quinn could repay irbc but cant seen as the bank are asset stripping.

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    Mute Jim Walsh
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    Aug 3rd 2012, 11:08 AM

    One of the most ridiculous arguments thrown out during this whole debate. Give me a couple of billion that you don’t want ever paid back and I can create lots of jobs as well.

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    Mute Paddy O Donnell
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    Aug 3rd 2012, 11:54 AM

    thats the thing, he wants to pay it back and can’t because he was declared bankrupt and irbc are undertaking a process of asset stripping!

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    Mute Simon
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    Aug 3rd 2012, 7:27 PM

    I think this so called ‘loyalty’ is one of major problems. This ‘loyalty’ is the same thing that kept Fianna Fail in power when everyone knew they were corrupt, voted Mick Lowry back into government, protected perverted priests etc etc etc,

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    Mute censored
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    Aug 3rd 2012, 8:43 PM

    Paddy, that’s great! He wants to pay the money back? I know Quinn is a resourceful and dynamic man, what obstacle could possibly be preventing him from achieving his objective?

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    Mute Damocles
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    Aug 3rd 2012, 9:13 AM

    I wonder if Seán Quinn were being prosecuted by the British, and had he brought down a British bank, how we would have reacted.

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    Mute Chris lynch
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    Aug 3rd 2012, 9:21 AM

    Not exactly sure how he would be a national hero, but hey that is your view I guess. I honestly would care so long as it had no affect on me as a tax payer.

    And also, if he was been prosecuted by a British court and whole issue would have been resolved along time ago I think.

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    Mute Damocles
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    Aug 3rd 2012, 9:26 AM

    Hmm … maybe a bit too cynical for a Friday morning.

    I do suspect there’d be a bit more of the “Oh those mean English banks taking advantage of that well meaning Irish fella.”

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    Mute mattoid
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    Aug 3rd 2012, 12:25 PM

    The Quinn camp already tried to play that card by disgracefully referring to the nationality of the current financial regulator.

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    Mute Damocles
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    Aug 3rd 2012, 10:37 AM

    To be fair, while what Quinn did was criminally stupid and motivated by self interest rather than by the altruistic motivations awarded him by his sycophantic supporters he isn’t solely responsible for the Irish financial crisis.

    It’s part of a wider global financial crisis caused by banks lending to banks, a global lack of banking regulation, the Fed, Ben Bernanke, EU interest rates, the Chinese and a number of other factors.

    His culpable stupidity has made him a lightning rod for the levels of anger felt in many parts of Irish society and in many ways distracts from the greater task, which is appreciating where we are and how we are going to proceed from here to sustainable growth.

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    Mute Charlie Bucket
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    Aug 3rd 2012, 10:48 AM

    Good article in http://www.oneworldchronicle.com….The systematic plundering of Quinn.

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    Mute Damocles
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    Aug 3rd 2012, 10:50 AM

    Excuse my scepticism of any news source that includes the article: “They Really Do Want To Implant Microchips Into Your Brain “

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    Mute HARRY MARKOPOLOS
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    Aug 3rd 2012, 10:48 AM

    I can live with the 2% levy..
    Quinn brought down my insurance quotes by thousands.
    I could not have got car insurance in the Republic of Ireland throughout my teens and 20′s if it were not for Quinn Insurance as I was getting quotes of 3/4/5 thousand from the lazy, greedy, inbred, extortionate monopolies who would rather see me emigrate.
    Now even these greedy competitors are quoting lower.
    Do you really think these snout nosed types would have dropped their prices in their monopolised market without the competition from Quinn??

    As for business insurance.
    In the late 90′s Quinn was the only company that would quote me in the Republic.
    The cosy cartel would not quote.
    It was Quinn or Llyods of London at 3 times the price.

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    Mute Aaron Marchant
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    Aug 3rd 2012, 11:06 AM

    I was quoted ridiculous price of 3k by Quinn for 3rd party on a 14 yr old car. I did a short training course with a competitor and paid less than half that. Your argument is invalid.

    Having no previous relationship with Quinn I feel it unfair that I should have to pay this levy.

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    Mute HARRY MARKOPOLOS
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    Aug 3rd 2012, 11:33 AM

    I am talking about the Late 90′s.
    Ask around, nearly every young driver in the country was with Quinn at the time.

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    Mute Tonya Maguire
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    Aug 3rd 2012, 12:06 PM

    I think you have a very valid argument Harry. Quinn brought the insurance prices in Ireland down. They were very unpopular for doing so with their competitors. Everyone seems to be going on about the 2% levy, but have they forgotten where the prices were before Quinn entered the market? When Anglo rejected the Quinn proposal – a proposal might I add that was passed by the Deutsche Bank, and which paid 2.8billion back to the taxpayer within 7 years, the other insurance companies must have been rubbing their hands in glee. Why can people not see the whole story?

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    Mute Frank Parker
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    Aug 3rd 2012, 4:14 PM

    Can’t you see that those low premiums made the business unviable and now we are all paying for the benefit you got back then.

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    Mute HARRY MARKOPOLOS
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    Aug 3rd 2012, 4:31 PM

    Unviable? 13-14 years ago?

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    Mute HARRY MARKOPOLOS
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    Aug 3rd 2012, 11:41 AM

    More Pseudo legal babble Jeff.

    What are these fine courts doing about Seanie fitz, Fingers, Neary except from sending them Christmas cards.

    What are these courts doing apart running useless expensive tribunals and farcical witch hunts while murderers walk out the gates of our prisons.

    The law will look after you Jeff.

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    Mute Jeff Rudd
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    Aug 3rd 2012, 12:00 PM

    @ HARRY MARKOPOLOS

    1. The courts are NOT sending Christmas cards. (pure rubbish!)
    2. The courts can only do and take care of, what is actually brought before them – to get them there is the job of other people (Buy hey, lets say its their fault!)
    3. The courts are not ordering the expensive tribunals (buy hey, lets say its their fault!) – the state government is!
    4. There is sadly murderers getting off light – that don’t mean others like the Quinns get a “Get out of jail” card either though.
    Your a bit short of truth and actual education to some facts it seems!

    …Carry on the Quinn spin though!
    If its full of insults and inaccuracies, the fold here will once again, see right through it!

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    Mute boildyeggs
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    Aug 3rd 2012, 9:32 AM
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    Mute mrnobody
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    Aug 3rd 2012, 2:33 PM

    What a totally biased and unprofessional article. i should uninstall this app as an act of protest, unfortunately i enjoy the “light” news far too much to do so

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    Mute Alan Dobson
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    Aug 3rd 2012, 4:46 PM

    Don’t blame the Quinns for what was ultimately Anglo banks and the Govts doing. They encouraged the Quinns then did their utmost to bring them down as the VHI was losing out to them. Its down to the Govt protecting the state owned VHI and its own interests. Clearing out the competition. To me it is a witch hunt for scapegoats and the media are buying into it too. All idiots.

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    Mute Stephen Murphy
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    Aug 3rd 2012, 7:00 PM

    Why dont we hold a rally for Bertie Ahern, so he can claim another 450k in expenses since resigning!

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    Mute Ed Appleby
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    Aug 4th 2012, 2:03 AM

    Alas the whole Quinn saga sums up the Irish political system and the parish pump mentality which infests much of rural Ireland and even some urban areas, ie. government of the gombeens, by the the gombeens, for the gombeens. The old cute hoor ‘you scratch my back and i’ll scratch yours’ mentality that has led to the election of the Flynns, Lowry’s, Healy-Rae’s, Callelly’s and all the other venal leeching parasites is alive and well and the sad part is that the likes of the Quinn’s and all the other ‘gamblers’ will always have their supporters in the gombeen nation because there enough people out there who always put their own local needs before that of the country. Parochialism and narrow mindedness allied to the Irish national trait of hypocrisy will ensure that the Quinn’s and the political dynasties who have run the country since independence will continue to bask in an almost feudal adulation of their subservient serfs and modern day peasants who can’t see beyond the fact that they once got a paycheck from the lords of the manor, no surprise to see the plethora of GAA and catholic priests showing support for the local don, after all he lined their pockets and if there’s one thing both those two ‘pillars’ of Irish society have in common it’s their fondness of money and they always stand up for their benefactors no matter how wrong they are. Failed state with a third world attitude to the law and the result is a third world country masquerading as modern European democracy.

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    Mute Jake Barry O'Brien
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    Aug 3rd 2012, 3:42 PM

    I made this earlier this week and posted it elsewhere, but it describes the family well I think…
    http://i.imgur.com/QWbWN.png

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    Mute ponythegringo
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    Aug 3rd 2012, 8:58 AM

    My comment removed again …. No place for free speech in the journal .. Read your comments policy again and still no idea why my comment is gone , most comments removed I must be doing something wrong

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    Mute Jeff Rudd
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    Aug 3rd 2012, 10:49 AM

    Mine too – twice now!

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    Mute Damocles
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    Aug 3rd 2012, 10:57 AM

    You should post them on your blog.

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    Mute Jeff Rudd
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    Aug 3rd 2012, 11:06 AM

    Three times now!

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    Mute Damocles
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    Aug 3rd 2012, 11:23 AM

    Why don’t you tweet them and ask?

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    Mute Damocles
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    Aug 3rd 2012, 11:37 AM

    Then don’t. It’s sub judice.

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    Mute Jeff Rudd
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    Aug 3rd 2012, 11:58 AM

    Even my comment here of why it was removed – has been removed!

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    Mute Damocles
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    Aug 3rd 2012, 12:08 PM

    Yes, because you were violating the sub judice nature in your explanation.

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    Mute TurkeysforChristmas
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    Aug 3rd 2012, 6:15 PM

    Sean Quinn isn’t ‘one of us’. But I agree: so far, at least, we are indeed all suckers.

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    Mute Alice ORiordan
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    Aug 3rd 2012, 4:56 PM

    It will be very interesting to see what comes out of the case being taken against Anglo by the Quinn Family and the Maple 10…
    Yes Sean Quinn has cost me money in my car insurance but I also paid for the failed PMPA for years too.

    It’s possible that there is much sympathy for Sean Quinn as he provided a job for many people something the politicians have failed to do.

    If you like somebody I guess you dont kick them when they are in trouble even though you might not like what they have done??

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    Mute censored
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    Aug 3rd 2012, 8:56 PM

    Politicians are not employers. It’s not their job to “provide a job for people”. This is just another example of the almost feudal attitude being shown by many of the Quinn supporters.

    Sean Quinn was a businessman who needed to employ people so his businesses could operate and make money. He was not a charitable institution. He does deserve credit and recognition for his entrepreneurial qualities – those qualities seem to be in short supply in Ireland and particularly in Cavan. However, his reputation has been destroyed by the revelations of exactly how he ran his business and how he gambled on Anglo.

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    Mute tony duggan
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    Aug 4th 2012, 11:48 AM

    One word…. GREED!

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    Mute Dermot Evans
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    Sep 1st 2012, 9:26 PM

    As much as I disagree with some of the things that Sean Quinn did I think a comparison with Lowry or the Flynns is unjustified .

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    Mute Arty Shaw
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    Aug 3rd 2012, 12:13 PM

    Eoin, I’m Irish, and I wasn’t at the rally. How is it that you infer from the actions of a small group of Irish people that there’s something “wrong with the Irish”?! I find this extraordinarily insulting to all the other people that didn’t act the way that small group did, and in fact it’s a rampant tendency in contemporary journalism. From “the Irish support Sean Quinn” to “we all partied”.

    Were you there? If you’re Irish, then by your logic you must support Sean Quinn too. In which case you’re being a hypocrite. But of course that’s nonsense, because whether a small group of Irish do this or that has NO BEARING on the nature of “the Irish”. There probably is no such thing.

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    Mute Eoin O'Malley
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    Aug 3rd 2012, 12:21 PM

    Read the article – not the headline.

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    Mute Arty Shaw
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    Aug 3rd 2012, 2:17 PM

    I did, it’s full of generalizations about the Irish – which are just nauseating – followed by retractions. If your point is that such generalizations are a bad idea (my point), maybe it could be a little less subtle. As it stands, that’s not how it reads.

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    Mute Mark O'Hagan
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    Aug 4th 2012, 7:59 AM

    Am I missing something here, but is the whole situation with Sean Quinn similar to people who are now complaining about being in negative equity. There is a mantra being repeated that banks lent money to people who could not afford to repay the loans. I have never seen a loan application being filled out while a bank manager stands over the applicant holding a gun to their head. The issue of taking personal responsibility for your actions never seems to surface.The situation with Quinn is just that the loans are so much bigger, but he maintains that it was everybody else’s fault.

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    Mute Elaine Tynan
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    Aug 4th 2012, 12:34 PM

    I do think that what the Quinn family did is wrong and when you do wrong you have to pay the consequences. As the saying goes,’ if you can’t do the time, don’t do the crime’. We in Ireland do make excuses for the ‘local man’ or even just someone we like because ‘he didn’t mean any harm’. I do believe that Sean Quinn is essentially a good person that went astray but it is still wrong. I think where the unfairness comes in and one of the reasons (and there are many others) that people are defending him is that there are many other culprits in the banking sector and political circles that have done as bad and worse who are being let do what they like with no repercussions. It’s about time we in Ireland realised that laws are laws and not general guidelines and if they were enforced strictly across the board we would be more accepting of them.

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    Mute Donal Laurence Heffernan
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    Aug 4th 2012, 3:05 PM

    Eoin O’Malley. I replied yesterday to your ‘article’. Someone on your team, i.e. the Journal, deleted the post. I find this censorship of my opinion offensive and extremely biased. You feel justified in expressing your view-point on a public forum, i.e. the Journal, yet you feel that others cannot call you to account. I stated nothing offensive, nothing derogatory,, nothing untrue, which is a lot more than can be said for your effort. If you, or your colleagues, feel that you are above criticism, when you are being un-journalistic, and need to examine more closely your true motivations. The truth will have out, it just needs to find you out first.

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    Mute HARRY MARKOPOLOS
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    Aug 4th 2012, 6:44 PM

    Its strange how.

    850 NAMA ”developers” racked up €71 billion, that one way or another we are going to pay back for them.
    Some of them individually owe just as much as Quinn to Irish banks alone and similar amounts to non Irish banks.
    Unlike Quinn who owned income producing multi-generational, strong businesses that employed 7000 people, these ”developers” owned valueless, none income producing fields and half finished shoddy building sites.
    Please note: these builders found it hard to pay anyone in the good times apart from the media who advertised their overpriced, badly built, shoebox properties.

    What did our fine ”leaders” and ”protectors” decide to do?
    (1) Shut Quinn down, try to disgrace him and his family, take everything from him, try to never allow him to create another job in the country and try to jail him and his family.
    and (2)
    Give the ”developers” €100′s of thousands a year in salaries, allow them to keep their expensive cars, houses and other toys, allow them to ”operate” their companies and allow them media immunity.

    Not to mention our government allowing the ”Financial Regulator” who presided over this mess total media immunity and a huge pension.

    Can someone tell me why the emphasis is on Quinn for a couple of billion that he could, would, wanted to and guaranteed us to pay back, (even though it is highly questionable that he actually owed it in the first place).
    Evidently the man has more ability than all of these 850 cowboys put together (and all of our fine ”leaders” and ”protectors” if it goes to that).

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    Mute Donal Laurence Heffernan
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    Aug 4th 2012, 8:39 PM

    Also bear in mind that many of our noble politicians were deep into property development as well. Remember “Justice” Minister O’Donoghue and his Roosky Mansion, among many? Or Pee Flynn and his 3 houses, his daughter Bev being an insider in the Bank Tax advisory business. Wonder if they got a loan from one of our dodgy banks? Any more suggestions to add to this elite list?

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    Mute Paul Moore
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    Aug 3rd 2012, 10:43 AM

    Very well put Jeff. Couldn’t agree more.

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    Mute Jeff Rudd
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    Aug 3rd 2012, 11:21 AM

    Let us not forget the very words of one Irish judge upon we can assume, seeing much material to back his words up – as reported in the Irish Times:

    Quote:
    Mr Justice Peter Kelly said he had presided over the Commercial Court since 2004 and was having to deal more often with cases involving “national and international fraud, sharp practice, chicanery and dishonesty”. However, he had never seen anything like the conduct in this case.

    Source: http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/finance/2012/0726/1224320827603.html

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