Cormac McCarthy, a central figure in Ireland’s banking bust, has ridden back into town as the second-in-command at Paddy Power Plc, one of the great Irish success stories of recent years, writes Kyran Fitzgerald

MicksGarage, an online retailer of car parts and accessories, today announced that it has secured €560,000 investment from AIB Seed Capital Fund, Enterprise Ireland and private investors.

THE outgoing chief executive of Paddy Power plc, John O’Reilly, received a pay rise of almost 90% last year, bringing his 2004 pay package to €883,000, up from €466,000.

A STRING of losing favourites at the Cheltenham festival helped push out pre-tax tax profits at bookies Paddy Power by 158% in the first half of the year.

ONE evening a couple of weeks ago a TD showed me a copy of an invitation he had received to the launch of a democracy commission. The invitation said this commission would conduct an audit of democracy in this country.

DIRECTORS at Paddy Power receive a 35% pay rise last year but employees at the bookmakers saw their average pay increase by 19%.