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BUSINESSMAN SEÁN QUINN has been released from Mountjoy prison this morning after completing a nine-week sentence for contempt of court.
The Cavan man, who was declared bankrupt in January of last year, had been jailed after being found to be in contempt of High Court orders which forbade the Quinn family to move their assets overseas and beyond the reach of the Irish Bank Resolution Corporation, formerly Anglo Irish Bank.
He was jailed on November 2, having been found in contempt in June of last year, when his son Seán Jr and nephew Peter Darragh were jailed for 90 days.
Seán Sr was spared jail on that occasion, so that the contempt could be undone, but no such progress could be made – with the Quinn family claiming that IBRC now controlled all of its assets.
Quinn, 66, had considered an appeal of the finding to the Supreme Court but on November 2 indicated that he wished to begin a sentence immediately.
Peter Darragh Quinn, Seán senior’s nephew, remains in Northern Ireland beyond the reach of Gardaí.
It had been reported that Quinn was not due for release until tomorrow, January 4, though a source said today marked the final day of his ninth week in jail and that he was therefore due for release today.
The Concerned Irish Citizens group, which has offered public support for the Quinn family, said it wished to welcome Quinn home.
It expressed a “hope that 2013 will be the year that the people of Ireland obtain answers to questions” on how much IBRC had spent pursuing the Quinns, why it had not sought to work with the Quinns instead of seizing their companies, and why Quinn Insurance was put into administration when an issue surrounding alleged ‘cross guarantees’ remains unclear.
***Gets popcorn and deckchair and waits…***
Statler, this is not a joking matter either for Sean Quinn, his family or the citizens of Ireland who are being fleeced by Anglo/Government in this witch hunt.
@rusty couldn’t agree more,Quinn could have paid his debts but Anglo called all hos loans in at once..
@jason I do agree to a point with you but he did create employment and gave big money to his local community..banks have to much control and it gets worse since enda decided to give them more power to evict people in trouble with mortgages
…..cue “the Lonesome Boatman”, soundtrack to the new film,” Poor Daddy”, with special guest star Daithi O Shea as the great man himself.
All the sheep will play themselves
What has been achieved by all of this? At a time when emigration levels are on a par with famine times, why was there no effort made to get the best out of Sean Quinn, which was the retention of all jobs and the creation of thousands of additional jobs. He did after all, offer to pay the State 2.8 billion , a fact that seems to be conveniently forgotten, even though 2.3 billion of that was advanced by Anglo to prop up its own share price it appears. It was a win win situation for the people of Ireland but that offer was thrown in his face in favour of a strategy that will cost us billions.
Sure tis not a laughing matter, fiddle diddle diiiidle doo, sure lets have an oul rally for poor Seanie,we can give a nice oul speech for the greeeeeeeeeat man and explain why the rest of the population will pay a 2% premium on every insurance policy known to man up until and exceeding the dawn of the next ice age.
Sure tisnt he a greeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaatttttttt man, indeedy dooo
There would be no Insurance levy or the taxpayers would not have been burdened by one cent if the Quinn proposal which offered the State 2.8 billion, had not been rejected.
He should run for political office, he has all the relevant attributes that is needed to succeed as a TD & sure a few weeks soft labour never harmed anyones reputation really. looking at some of the comments here he’d get as many votes as the labour or FG candidate in his area. Good old Seanie Quinn TD a great man to do business with.
Whats your next project there Rusty? Why don’t we kick off with a Bertie Ahern benevolent fund. That seems reasonable in light of your suggestion re. the 2.8billion.
Seriously man, What are those mind altering substances your currently enjoying? Cause I want some too…only fair you share that stuff with the rest, because Rusty a mind needs to be pretty bent up and seriously out of shape to buy into that particular fairy tale.
Peter, do not rule out Quinn family members running in a number of constituencies in the next election. They would deliver on jobs and keep their promises. Reckon they would top the poles.
Yes what we need are more political reps like the mighty Quinns.
Yes Rusty, Lets all hold hands together and propagate the notion the that the parish pump, fiddle diiiiddllle diddlee doo begorrah style “I won it at the races” approach to running the country is just what we need.
“ah sure I signed the contract, but I dint know what I was signing”…..I’d have tin whistles and a few oul banjos for the soundtrack to that particular scene, Aoife quinn can play herself, cause theres nobody in this land of make believe that can do make believe like oul Aiofe can.
Regular academy award winner there
This is the funniest movie ever ;)
My Dawg…….., I dont think that creating 8000 jobs across the country and worldwide is parish pump politics. Do you?
Jaysis you’d swear he gave them the jobs out of kindness. He made massive profits off the backs of other people’s labour. And we’re supposed to think he’s great for that?! Warped thinking.
My Dawg……, it is not a fairytale. The Quinn proposal is a matter of public record. You really are brainwashed by the Anglo propaganda that you and I are being billed for. Incidentally, how much is the current strategy recouping or costing us?
He can propose all he likes. He hasn’t paid a cent of it over.
@J Walsh, he did all that with the illegal full backing of Anglo, they handed him the money to do it. He should be joined in jail with those who ran our banks.
Rusty, the Quinns offer you put so much stall in, required that an additional 60 million be loaned to them straight away. You expected them to hand over that amount of money after he squandered all his own money. This was just after he was fined for not running Quinn Insurance properly.
We’re being thrown off the scent of the bankers and government, the real cause of our financial problems. Sure Quinn was involved, but he’s being used a decoy from where our anger should be fully focused! But we’re sitting back watching the blame Sean show and letting the banks and government away with murder.
I notice more green thumbs for the pro Quinn comments.
People must be eventually waking up to the fact that Quinn is not the real culprit in this crime.
Jason Walsh, I am not sure what your point about CFD’s is. The fact is that Sean Quinn invested in a blue chip company (through CFD’s) which was regulated by the Central Bank and supervised by the Government. There was absolutely nothing illegal or improper on his part. THe illegality was on the part of Anglo who cooked the books and presented false accounts as accurate to investors. CFD’s are still on the market today.
@J Walsh – who do you think facilitated those unconventional means… Anglo, as it was in their interests that he bought shares to try and increase Anglos share price in a rapidly declining market. That’s why Anglo loaned SQ €700million for that reason alone. If it worked he stood to gain aswell as the bank, illegally falsifying their accounts to deceive other potential Investors. But wasn’t to be.
Right on, MD.
He only stole a billion from us, let’s make him Taoiseach.
Judge was a wimp. Should have thrown away the key.
I predict another rally with a crying Seanie and a load of deluded Cavan and Fermanagh people. Here we go again.
Bedrudgy, if you believe that the Quinn supporters are deluded, I would suggest that you ask yourself some of the questions that are on Concerned Irish Citizens facebook page, such as :
How much has been recouped and how much of your money and mine has been spent by Anglo in trying to finish off Sean Quinn and crucially how does that compare with the 2.8 billion that was on offer from Quinn. When you try to get answers, you will realize that it is not the Quinn supporters who are deluded.
No, they are deluded. Nuts. Beyond saving. They can keep him and pay the levy themselves since they love him so much.
The protests in Cavan remind me of the creationist rallies in America!! They’re all crazy and brainwashed
Perhaps it is the Anglo supporters who are brainwashed. It is not out of the question since so much of your money and mine has been spent brainwashing the public.
Rusty, the man knowingly hid assets to avoid paying his debts and instead left it for us to pay. And then you have the cheek to call us brainwashed for being annoyed by this. Will you cop on, ffs.
Rusty9, are you Séan Quinn?
The Quinn Supporters aren’t brainwashed and this nonsense that repeatedly gets wheeled out in all these discussions really grates.
I understand that the Quinn family have put assets beyond reach. I understand that I’m now paying an insurance levy. I understand that Anglo are claiming 2.8 billion against the Quinns.
However, I’m willing to look at all these points and see beyond the headline “fact” that’s wheeled out in line with Anglo’s rhetoric. That doesn’t mean there is anything blind about my support for Quinns or that I would support them no matter what.
I understand anyone putting assets beyond the reach of a bank that has no legal claim on those assets, if that was required to pursue the main case.
I understand that whether you think Quinn is wholly responisble for the insurance levy or not, that the company has been disastorously and haplessly mismanaged in the interim by incompetent administrators who have failed to live up their their own promise not to call on the ICF.
I also understand that Anglo claim 2.8 billion against Quinn, but I think it’s fair that he be allowed to pursue that case and I see exactly how undemocratic Anglo’s and the Government’s attemts to exclude them from doing so have been.
The reality is, most Quinn supporters, have a very good understanding of the facts of the case. Those facts that might be disputed by the Anti-Quinn crowd, but any charges of supporters following “blindly” could equally be levelled against those who denigrate the Quinns based on those top-level “facts” as espoused by Anglo, Grant Thornton, Paul O’Brien et al without reference to the background.
Now, I hope they leave the man alone, until he gets to bring his case to court. I wonder what other obstacles they’ll try to throw in his path, before he brings his case against Anglo……
There are some people trying everything they can to silence this man!
Have to agree with you YF.
Something very odd going on here.
There is no silence we know his claims. He should remain in jail till he purges his contempt.
Regardless of his claims he did break a court order.
I for one don’t believe it is some conspiracy against the Quinns. You will always find people to believe him regardless of what comes out.
Y.F. you are switched on people on here have no under standing how our courts work ,the banks run our courts plus how come it has taken so long to bring proceedings against Ernst a Young while still being handed state and banking contracts?
I don’t care about Mr Quinn.
I care about the Dpp postponing the Quinn/Anglo court case.
The outcome of that case has a direct bearing on this one.
Put simply the cart is being put in front of the horse.
All this mess wasn’t caused by one man, where’s the rest of them?
Kal pers,
Yes, he was proven to have broken court orders and has been punished for it. Anglo have spent over 80 million euro in legal proceedings against Quinn so far (this was a figure given in early Novermber, so it is most likely to be much higher than this). This is tax-payer’s money. They have told a Russian company that they will pay up to 155 million if they can retrieve something for them…..again, our money they are using.
Why would a cosmopoltan, ‘New Ireland’ give a company who was the cause of the catastrophic downfall in Irish economy, the authority to work towards un-doing what they themselves have done? It’s ubsurd the IBRC (Anglo) have been offered the job if rectifying, what they themselves, it would seem, are the cause of destroying…
You don’t take a punishment for ongoing contempt of court. You clear your contempt.
The reason it is so expensive is because of the Quinns. If they were up front the legal costs would be much less. It wouldn’t even need to be in court.
The conspiracy theory really doesn’t have any clear intent other than out to get the Quinns.
Kal pers,
Quinn has said that he cannot purge his contempt. I, for one believe that he was right and correct to hide his foriegn assets. I’m not saying that I think he should have breached the orders of court, but anything done previous to these orders, I believe he was right to do. The ownership has never been proven in a court of law. Anglo say they are entitled to ownership, Quinn disagrees. I would believe Quinn over a toxic bank. Let the ownership of the assets be established before people are incarcerated. The truth will out in the end…. until then let Anglo leave him alone and stop throwing obstacles in his path, to inhibit him from his day in court against them.
IF he’s so confident that he’s the rightful owner why was he hiding assets under the Russian carpet like a crack dealer?
I’m assuming he hid them in anyway he could, with the knowledge that Anglo are as ruthless as they are. Your comparison is silly nonsense…You could say you are not unlike a crack-dealer in the way that you use the bathroom and go to bed at night etc etc
It seems ridiculous that this man has served time and the bankers have got off Scot free. We, the taxpayer are paying back up to 40 billion because of Anglo and poor banking regulation. Yet the media seem to focus on the 450 million that Quinn owes. Small fry by comparison. Hope the top dogs do time too….
This man served time for contempt of court, nothing else. If he had complied with court orders he wouldn’t have done any time. Three former Anglo directors have been charged before the courts of serious offenses.
They’ve been charged, it’s 2013 you know. If this was the U.S., they’d have been locked up long ago. But our politicians never believed in tackling corruption, at any time and you’d wonder why? How come we don’t have a dedicated squad of untouchables, tackling white collar crime? Have you ever wondered why, Europe doesn’t have a federal police force by now and no-one is calling for one to be established?
Reg, have you considered the fact that the Quinns are unable to purge the contempt? Surely, even IBRC are coming to that conclusion when they have engaged the Alfa Asset Recovery company at such enormous expense. Also Enda Kenny and Brian Hayes tried to get them back but failed so how can the Quinns work miracles? Besides, none of this should be happening when the legitimacy of the alleged debt of 2.3 billion has yet to be ruled on.
why do Irish people bend over backwards making martyrs of greedy slimebags like Sean Quinn and his nasty family. the country was brought to it’s knee’s because of b#$&@(@$ like him and his cronies
Do you know the Quinn family personally?
“Nasty family ” sounds very harsh. !!
I presume Seanie Fitz & Fingers Fingleton are upstanding members of our society!!!!!
For the same reason the banks and gov blame one man for our economic collapse.
Does he not have to serve the extra 3 days he skipped?
So will he still have to purge his contempt or is that it?
Mark, the whole point is that it is not possible to purge the contempt. Why would IBRC be hiring a very expensive asset recovery company, Alfa to recover the assets and when Enda Kenny and Brian Hayes were unable to recover them, if it was as simple as you appear to think.
IRBC needs a very expensive solution to recover these assets because of the way the Quinn’s tried to move their assets beyond the reach of the IRBC, nothing more, nothing less.
I really hope the Quinn’s will work with IRBC now to recover some of the assets, I’d hate to see that man in jail again.
It i poignant that there is a crucifix behind Sean Quinn in this picture when he and his family are been crucified by the people who have no regard for justice or for the taxpayers or Quinn employees.
The judge deemed that at this stage Mr Quinn would not be able to purge his contempt which is why a defined sentence was imposed rather than an open-ended one.
Ah come on Rusty, fair is fair. I have no pot, no liquor, no meds…..nothing. I need to be utterly wasted to continue with this conversation. My brain hurts now and I find I only have myself to blame.
Going back to my story boards to work on the soundtrack to my Masterpiece, Daithi is here, we having tea and digestives, he has some concerns about the script plus he’s none to happy about his wages being paid in potatoes and black pudding, says he’s going to raise the matter with his agent.
Thats my fairytale Rusty and I’m sticking with it. It’s just about as believable as the economic data you throwing around the pub there.
My Dawgs ………you should stick to the facts and perhaps answer a few legitimate questions such as, “how much has been recouped under the current strategy and how much public money has been spent by Anglo in pursuing Quinn and crucially how does this compare with the 2.8 billion that was offered by Quinn (something that is a matter of public record). looking forward to your answer instead of waffle.
Bollox!
No sandra he got leave just like the prisoners who were put in jail for rape gbh robbing drug dealing etc did!!!
Not supposed to get temporary release for contempt.
Ive seen people sent to prison before for contempt of court but are you sure he has a conviction as per your headline? “Seán Quinn released from Mountjoy following contempt conviction”
Brian – A very fair point. ‘Conviction’ was, in hindsight, an imperfect choice. The headline has been adjusted now.
Shane the Quinn’s greed doesn’t equate to being decent these people are the cause and getting rid of them is the solution. I had to emigrate because of sneaky lowlifes like Quinn. so don’t lecture me. no blinkers on here. Tom Burke Perth WA
That is an example of what can only be described as an idiotic opinion. You say that getting rid of the Quinns and people like them is the only solution. The Quinns were one of the great entrepreneur’s of Ireland. So your opinion is to get rid of people who create wealth of their own back. Instead of dealing with the bankers get rid of entrepreneurs who have a chance of creating wealth.
Tom, I genuinely sympathize with you that you had to emigrate. That is the reason why so many people are outraged that the offer from Quinn to create thousands more jobs PLUS pay 2.8 billion the the State was rejected. Ireland needs job creators and not fat cat bankers who have NO concern about jobs or the people who have to emigrate. Hope that you will be able to come back home some day.
Please at least have the decency to identify yourself when posting comments like that sean quinn & his family are very decent kind family people
Please do not come on here with hurtfull comments like that when you know nothing about sean quinn or his family other than the trash you have read from mafia type media who cant even write proper true articles!!!
It will be interesting to finally get the verdict of the ‘big case’, Quinn versus Anglo. Shame that it has been postponed. In the meantime, Anglo, with the taxpayer’s money in their back pocket, continue to fling dirt at Quinn to blacken his name and reputation. To be fair, It has been a clever ploy!
when entrepreneur’s fail they lose. in lreland these morons take a gamble and take everyone down with them. if you think there is no difference between Quinn and his banker mates then you Tom mcmanus are the idiot
The difference is that Quinn offered to [pay the State 2.8 billion and work for nothing for seven years until the money was paid. He also offered to create thousands more jobs. I am not aware of any banker do likewise.
I think you have read my comment wrong. My point was that there is a difference between the bankers who lent money out and fuelled the property boom and Sean Quinn. That these people did not export anything. They did not provide a net gain to the trade surplus. That they and the government put the Irish people on the line for billions in debt which should of fell on the bond holders. And the Sean Quinn and other entrepreneurs who inherently take additional risks to normal risk adverse people, are the only ones who will get us out of this mess. By taking risks and creating jobs. And if he had been allowed to continue at what he was so successful at previously, the money would have been paid back. Instead Lagan cement is looking at buying Quinn cement. Which will inevitably lead to the closier of a plant and job losses. And now bankers instead of being punished for the inept job they previously did. Are transferred to the Quinn Group to run a successful company into the ground.
I feel sorry for the Quinn family, they are not criminals but decent folk who took a gamble and it did not work out but Anglo decided it wanted 100% of its pound of flesh back and still will not get a cent. This country is really a disgrace when you Enda earning more than David Cameron. Where are our priorities?
Did he get an allowance while in jail? How much?
You’re right Michael, they are not criminals. They invested in a bank after being given incorrect, allegedly illegal, fictitious, aggressively overstated bank accounts from said bank. The fact that what they were investing under the false pretences Anglo gave them, would make any fallout or otherwise from the investment null and void. This will most probably be proven in court, and then how willl Anglo recoup the damage they have done to the Quinn family and the Quinn empire…
YF, see today’s interview in Impartial Reporter by Paul O’Brien where he claims that the bondholders took a hit in the Anglo ‘Deal” on Quinn. More nonsense and O’Brien clearly is determined that the Quinns will not get back the company they created from nothing to creating 8000 jobs. He obviously has no interest in how much this will unnecessarily burden the taxpayers or the employees and is only interested in fleecing the Quinn Group. Bring back Sean Quinn and restore peace, viability and hope for the people in the border counties.
why go on the run then?
Nobody went on the run. If you are referring to Peter Darragh Quinn, he simply returned home where he has always lived and worked.
Who’s running?
Quinn never ran from anything in his life. In his own words he’always stood up to bullies’.
Quinn’s nephew chose to stay in the country in which he lives, and not to come down to another country to do time in jail….the length of time was not specific, so he had no idea how long he would be jailed for. I’m assuming, from interviews I’ve heard that he found himself in a very precarious situation and took one choice out of the two he had….whether he was right or not is for him to determine.
Here, Here
.whether he was right or not is for him to determine.
Peter, if Anglo had rightful security on these assets, how come Quinn was able to move them? (Comment posted in wrong place initially).
returned to where he worked and lived. that’s a bit of a cop out don’t you think. these guys tried everything to hold on to their empire. it suits these shitheads to skip from one side of the border to the other. a bit like the way they ran their business, gangsters. how was Quinn going to pay 2.8 billion exactly.
Quinn supporters show their true colours when they say he was right to hide his assets (in contravention of court orders) and that Peter Daragh is right to run over the border and not do his time.
Contempt for Irish taxpayers and contempt for the rule of law.
Doesn’t Peter Daragh LIVE north of the border??? So in fact he actually just went home but the media and the public have this notion he ran off and is in hiding in N. Ireland were in reality he is more than likely sitting at home having a cuppa.
Sean Quinn was also right I believe to put funds out of reach of IBRC UNTIL what is actually owed is defined and agreed on. This still has not happened as IBRC is dragging this out for the media to portray Quinn as the sole villian of the people here, they have seized all other companies and assets and are deliberately delaying and stalling proper investigations into what is disputed and owed. There’s billions between both sides figures. So again, I believe it is only correct to await the actual figures. Until this is done, Quinn should do all he can to prevent Old Anglo boys from stripping him of every penny he owns.
To contest the above sentiment and to still believe Quinn should just bend over and take this witch hunt without waiting for an actual outcome of the courts is mind-numbingly staggering and shows how easy emotions and half truths and the media can twist logic and reason.
Without proof that he owes another penny to IBRC why should he hand one more cent over? HE offered when he had his companies but IBRC ignored him and took receivership of his business and are still gutting them at the cost of the state and us the tax payers. The Quinn’s probably couldn’t move those funds now if they wanted to themselves.
Thousands out of work with many now on Social welfare (Quinn being the largest employer in that part of the country) The expense of this witch hunt at taxpayers expense and IRBC soley interested in clawing back money THEY gambled and threw away. Their books are still smouldering after the cooking they got over the last 10 years. Contempt of the Irish taxpayers is what FF(continued by FG) and Anglo boys did back in 2008, and every year since.
So if I murder someone is Newry can I just go home to Galway and have a cuppa?
“But he created Jobs!”
So what? Do did Hitler! That didn’t stop him being in the wrong!!
It’s the “but he fixed the pothole” logic. Sad and pathetic.
Niall go back to school and learn to spell before you come om here posting stupid comments
While your at it do some research into the quinn family & the corrupt irish government instead of reading the trash the media says about them
Shane your comments smell of a family member, I feel no pity for the Quinn’s ,they are not starving ( sure they can tuck into the daughters €100,000 wedding cake) and they can always sell the Beemers that they show up to court so often in. My heart bleeds really.
And while your at it why don’t you learn to spell as well Shane, instead of criticising Niall.
Shane, It’s quite ironic that my spelling is criticised by somebody who’s grammar is atrocious. I’ll have you know that I made a typo. It was quite like your very own typo of “om”
I’ve got first hand experience of the man, what have you got to help you make your mind up? A quick visit to the local SuperValu on a Sunday morning after mass where you hear “It’s a terrible shame what the Government are doing to Sean…… Terrible….. Can they not appreciate that he has done so much for the locality?”
And there’s my point. So what if he has done things for the locality? Who cares? That doesn’t excuse him from what he is doing right now and that’s acting in contempt of MY Countries justice system.
But listen, if trolling my typo’s get’s you off then you fire away and be my guest buddy :)
I’m just wondering how many Government run companies were started from nothing.
All yes All successful businesses are successful because somewhere someone put in a lot of long days and took huge risks all the while our governments fat scavengers waited for these start up companies to fail and then they clean you out usually with taxes.
Anyone remember what happened to Joe Moore his family and PMPA.
First man in Ireland to start an Insurance Co and the rest is history
Maybe the cavan people are brainwashed, but can we all admit that most of us haven’t a clue what Quinn or Anglo really got up to and leave it to the courts? Don’t think rehashing these points on every article makes much difference!
I’m employed in a former Quinn company… yes people lost jobs, but if we hadn’t noticed we are in recession and there would have been job losses regardless of who owned the company!
I still cannot understand how he got out for Chr5istmas as he did not purge his contempt !
This family think they are above the law and they are being facilitated !
Eileen do you know this family or how much have you researched the facts apart from soaking up Anglo propaganda.
rusty9, what’s to know exactly?
Sean Quinn went to jail because he was in contempt of court.
We all accept that. Sean Quinn was excused from prison despite NOT purging his contempt. So he was still in the wrong yet he was allowed out for two family occasions. Now enlighten me, which element of the above is in anyway incorrect?
For Rusty9
The issue is not that Mr Quinn made a play and lost, that’s part of the risk taking in businees referred to here. The problem is his (and his family’s) refusal to recognise that he effed up and lost it all. He was the top man, the buck stops at his desk. Where’s his pride?
The only thing he has now is the misplaced adoration of the local peasents for their Lord, who have no understanding of the gamble he took with the company’s money. He gambled it all, lost, and the market took him out.
Unfortunately, there was collateral damage.
The companies are still operating paying wages and no longer gambling the company’s assets for personal gain
C’mon lads his only crime was breaking the law ,tsall the mafia meeeja planting facts!
Where are the cases against the banks and government that ruined Ireland?
Hmmmm ! Well I do know that any body who is sentenced to a prison term for contempt of court do not get released until they purge their contempt or finish their sentence How did he get out for Christmas .
The fact that they were found in contempt of the court proves that they have no regard for our law or justice system .
Next question ….
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