Galen Weston, businessman behind Brown Thomas, dies aged 80

A friend of Prince Charles and lover of polo and art, Mr Weston oversaw and expanded a high-end family retail empire that includes Brown Thomas in Ireland, Britain’s Selfridges, Canada’s Holt Renfrew, and de Bijenkorf of the Netherlands. 

Galen Weston, director Brown Thomas outside their new Cork department store, formerly Cash's yesterday. Picture: Eddie O'Hare

Galen Weston, the entrepreneur who built an Atlantic-spanning business network that made him one of the richest Canadians, has died. He was 80.

Mr Weston died Monday “peacefully at home after a long illness faced with courage and dignity,” the Weston family said in a statement last night.