Triple-titled mogul drops names down memory lane
The supreme ceiling painter was one of the few heavyweights not to plummet from the lofty jaws of the media mogul as he took the stand in the Moriarty Tribunal in a performance that should have made the wearing of hard hats and steel-toed boots compulsory.
“I know the Kennedy family very well,” he informed the chamber. And he wasn’t referring to the Kennedys of Kiltimagh.
“I am on President Mbeki’s economic council,” he declared, explaining how he helps his old pal Thabo attract investment to South Africa.
“We have an international advisory board,” he added, listing among its members such luminaries as former Canadian prime minister, Brian Mulroney; QC, MP and one-time chancellor to the exchequer Ken (not Kenneth) Clarke, and legendary Washington Post editor, Ben Bradlee.
Mr O’Reilly likes to chat to them now and again to hear how his media interests are doing.
Ben and Tony in particular have much to chat about, it seems, as Tony used to be on the board of the Post itself.
As if it wasn’t already obvious by the expensive, and bafflingly crease-free, double-breasted suit; the winter-in-the-Bahamas tan and the bottle of San Pellegrino he brought with him when everyone else made do with Tipperary Water, Mr/Dr/Sir Tony O’Reilly is an international business leader (IBL).
Michael Lowry said so in his statement to the tribunal, in which he attributed to O’Reilly feelings of frustration at not getting due recognition at home for his exalted standing in the universe at large.
By the standards of the illustrious company Mr O’Reilly keeps, the characters with which the tribunal is currently concerned barely register on the scale of influence.
But IBLs can have big hearts as well as sizeable bank accounts.
Michael Lowry was “a very charming man”, John Bruton was “an excellent politician” and Denis O’Brien was an Olympic gold medallist.
At least that was how Mr O’Reilly described his rival’s achievement in winning the country’s second mobile phone licence in a letter of congratulations to him in 1995 which opened magnanimously with:
My Dear Denis.
Yes indeedy, this was a very pleasant trip down memory lane for Mr O’Reilly, who recalled for the tribunal private boxes on derby days, holidays in summer houses and buffet dinners for 75. But he didn’t let anyone forget that behind the bonhomie, he is a hard-headed IBL.
“I need not remind you that I was full-time chief executive of Heinz in the US,” he chided counsel for the tribunal who challenged his contention that he did not know every last detail of the relatively minor matter of an Irish mobile phone licence competition.
In fact, so busy is Mr O’Reilly with his international empire, he only gets to see the Irish Independent five to 10 days after it is printed.
He made this revelation by way of explaining he could not have influenced the infamous front page editorial the paper ran on the morning of the 1997 general election urging the electorate to vote the coalition out of office, the same coalition that happened to award the phone licence to Denis O’Brien.
Given that Independent News and Media bills itself as a leading international communications group, spanning four continents, 175 titles, 51 websites and too many radio stations and advertising sites to mention, one might consider declaring the news from home arriving 10 days late something to file under ‘O’ for ‘Oops’.
If he runs out of names, Mr O’Reilly could always make dropping clangers an art form instead.
“See you at the Indo AGM,” he said to photographers who clamoured for his picture as he exited the chamber. There might be a few shareholders waiting to see him too.
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