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Bertie’s 12 Apostles?
Read more about: Bertiegate, Fianna Fail
Ok, here is a quick list of the guys on the list and what Google reveals about them. I think most of these people are right as they seem to have connections to Bertie, but that could be just a coincidence, so some people may not be the people. If anyone knows if I am wrong or knows other details, let me know. (Updated 23:00)
Joe Burke may or may not be the Joe Burke appointed chairman of the Dublin Port Company in 2002.
Edit: Joe Burke seems to have been appointed on 25.04.02 and for his role gets €15,236.86.
David McKenna , chief executive of Marlborough International, as profiled in this weekend’s Sunday Business post.
Des Richardson , a former Fianna Fail fundraiser and, up to 2004 anyway, organised the race tent at the Galway races. Was involved in business dealings with Frank Dunlop.
Edit: May also be the Des Richardson who was on the Board of Aer Lingus. He stepped down from the post in 2000.
From the Sunday Independent of May 2000:
Bertie Ahern approved the granting of tax incentives in 1994 to land which was part-owned by both Fianna Fáil’s chief fund-raiser Des Richardson and PR consultant Frank Dunlop, the Sunday Independent can reveal.
Mr Ahern, who was Minister for Finance at the time, said yesterday he was not aware that Mr Richardson and Mr Dunlop were part-owners of the land, which has since been developed, at Navan, Co Meath.
Paddy Reilly, seemingly there’s two different ones: one, “the plaster”, is not known to the public, the other, I am guessing, is a former election agent. According to the blog Soundtrack of Them, Paddy Reilly, a former election agent of Bertie Ahern, was involved in the cheap purchase of a large number of premises in central Dublin and renovated them for resale. What was wrong if anything with these deals, I have no idea.
Padraic O’Connor may or may not be the Padraic O’Connor appointed as head of ACC bank in 1999.
Edit: If this is the same guy, then he was on the Eircom and Alltracel boards. His Bio says:
Padraic O’Connor is a former chairman of the ACC Bank in Ireland and advisor to a number of other companies in a non-executive capacity. Padraic O’Connor retired from NCB Group Limited (”NCB”) in March 1999 where he held the position as group managing director since February 1991. As managing director he oversaw the sale of the company to National Westminster Bank Plc in 1994. During this period he was a director of the Irish Stock Exchange and a member of the Executive Committee of the FSIA. Prior to joining NCB in 1987, Padraic O’Connor held roles in IBI Treasury, the Irish Central Bank and the Department of Finance. He has a BA Hons (Economics and Politics), MA (Econometrics, Statistics and Applied Economics) and a DPA from University College Dublin.
Jim Nugent may or may not the Jim Nugent who was on the board of the Central Bank.
Edit: Or may or may not be James Nugent Senior Council, who was counsel for the Minister for Defence at the Army Deafness case. Pictured on page 38. McDowell and Vincent Browne chatting on page 37, by the way.
Edit: According to the Irish Examiner he is a friend which probably means that he is not any of the above guys.
Fintan Gunne, a late building developer.
Mike Collins is far too common a name to Google.
Charlie Chawke is a publican who was shot during a robbery in his bar in 2003 .
Dermot Carew, who may or may not be the Dermot Carew who owns Bertie’s local.
Barry English, I have no one with obvious connections.
Edit: From Magician in the comments; “Barry English was only 26 when he made the donation (loan) to Bertie. He has subsequently gone on to become a very successful businessman, running a number of companies involved in Mechanical and Electrical Services installations, with Winthrop offices in Dublin and Waterford. Having previously worked overseas with the Kentz group, I fail to see how close a friend English could have been to Bertie all those years ago.”
I think you have the right Joe Burke and I think that one is going to be a problem. There’s been a lot of controversy with Dublin Port’s property management. Here’s one Irish Times article. The reporters are going to be very busy this evening.
Any chance you could provide a link for that article, P?
Interesting, but for do edit the article! The IT is a bit of a copyright demon!
Here’s a link for the Irish Times article. It’ll need a subscription. There are loads of others, and that’s just for Joe Burke. I don’t want to paste in too much stuff for the reason that Tom raises.
http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/ireland/2005/0912/1355814138AG12BURKEPANEL.html
That the reason for asking for the link: at least if that’s there, we’re at least pointing to a source. I’ll use my strange and awesome powers to put the link in.
Also of note, Gavin mentions some important stuff on Des Richardson: http://www.gavinsblog.com/2006/09/26/back-for-a-note/
So that gives us Joe Burke and Des Richardson as potential smoking guns. Tut, tut, Bertie! You should know better than this!
Richardson is a central figure in all this, and most of the FF dealings of recent years. His role as the “fundraiser” has long been known but, as Gavins post illustrates, its a thin line when your in a position like that.
The article gaving links to is a must read.
Dermot Carew owns Beaumont House a pub and is a developer selling some very smart apartments in Clontarf
I have added some more details.
Cronyism & corruption are twin bedfellows.the list speaks for itself.
just like to add that maybe not all in the list are the right guys. They may well just have the same names
The reporter for Pat Kenny’s show suggests a great deal of surprise in Drumcondra at the reference to some of the above names as close personal friends in 1993.
McKenna didnt become a close pal until later in the decade-flying bertie to old trafford on the marlborough jet.
Chawke raised eyebrows too as did Fintan Gunne.
Nothing implied by these just that some close to the constituency arent 100% on teh status of the above.
Barry English was only 26 when he made the donation (loan) to Bertie. He has subsequently gone on to become a very successful businessman, running a number of companies involved in Mechanical and Electrical Services installations, with Winthrop offices in Dublin and Waterford.
Having previously worked overseas with the Kentz group, I fail to see how close a friend English could have been to Bertie all those years ago.
Mike Collins I believe fought the British during the war of independence and was later shot by anti treaty forces. He may or may not be the Mike Collins Bertie mentioned.
Is there any way for links to be provided to the pingbacks?
Simon, I have a theory, possibly totally wrong, that Bertie mixed up Mike Collins with Tim Collins. See this RTE story from a while back.
That actually seems quite possible P unfortunately we need the bert to answer that one for us : (
Joe Burke one time election agent of who ? Bertie Ahern
Mollie yes I believe he is
As luck would have it I believe I may know the Mick Collins mentioned, but I’m not about to reveal anything about the Mick Collins I know.
Info on Mick Collins seems to be as elusive as it was on his War of Independence namesake in his day.