Barry Harte: Who is the Cork dentist behind the €170m debt write-off?

Harte Holdings had established itself as one of the country's top property development firms until the collapse of Ireland's housing market

Harte Holdings was involved in a long list of projects that included holiday homes in the West of Ireland, suburban bar and restaurant developments, residential projects in the UK and a number of hotel and hospitality operations. File picture: Larry Cummins

Despite having a record €170m personal insolvency deal agreed in the High Court this week, Barry Harte often flew under the radar and kept a low profile compared to other Celtic-Tiger era developers.

From Timoleague in West Cork, Harte had a very successful sporting career in hurling and football and is a well-respected figure to this day within the sport. He was a graduate of Farranferris and captained the college to a Harty Cup victory in 1984 and went on to represent Cork at minor and Under 21 levels.

After studying at University College Cork and Trinity College Dublin, he pursued an early successful career in medicine as a dentist practising in Cork city before he established Harte Holdings in 1995. Over the next decade, the company established itself as one of the country's top property development firms riding the massive growth in construction throughout the country. 

Harte Holdings was involved in a long list of projects that included holiday homes in the West of Ireland, suburban bar and restaurant developments, residential projects in the UK and a number of hotel and hospitality operations. 

In 2006, Harte Holdings spent €50m buying three London hotels and was a shareholder in a Barcelona hotel. As late as 2011, the company acquired four hotels in the US for €145m. At its peak, Harte Holding's portfolio was valued at €650m.

However, the collapse of Ireland's housing market more than a decade ago saw many of these properties move into Nama or other institutions which had backed the developments and ultimately led to proceedings at the High Court this week.