‘Cavan’s fortunes have risen and fallen in tandem with those of Seán Quinn’
Yesterday, the worst fears of Quinn Insurance employees were confirmed when the company’s administrators announced 900 voluntary redundancies would be sought from the 2,450-strong workforce.
The feeling in Cavan will be replicated in several other parts of the Republic as well as in the North and Britain.
But it is in the border county, which suffered as an employment backwater for so many decades, that the job losses will be felt most.
For many, Cavan is Quinn country, and the fortunes of both the town and county have risen and fallen in tandem with those of Seán Quinn.
The modern, eye-catching building that is Quinn Insurance’s HQ on the Dublin Road in Cavan was the focus of the media attention as staff were briefed on the details of the redundancy programme.
Afterwards, none of the workers leaving the staff car stopped to speak to reporters. Presumably, they were still taking in the implications that their numbers were being cut by 226, over a third of the workforce in Cavan, rather than demonstrating the county’s reputation for thriftiness in everything, including words.
However, Patrick O’Brien, claims evaluator manager, said: “An awful lot of questions have still to be answered,” adding that poor communications from the two administrators were not helped by the poor amplification at the meeting. While staff were resigned to the scale of yesterday’s redundancies, he expressed concern that “the landscape could be very different” if the company is sold – code for a fear of further job losses.
Some staff gathered a short while later in the Hotel Kilmore adjacent to the company headquarters.
Local couple Yvonne Mullen and Colm McDermott may have wondered if they had chosen the right day to have the wedding reception at the hotel as guests mingled in the foyer with Quinn staff, a large media posse and local politicians.
Cavan woman Kathleen Mulligan, a mother of four grown-up children who had worked with Quinn for the past nine years, said she and all her colleagues were “feeling a bit shattered”.
“This is going to have a devastating effect on Cavan,” she predicted. However, Kathleen said staff did welcome that the redundancy package appeared generous.
Asked if anyone was being blamed for the situation, Kathleen said Quinn staff felt strongly that there was no need for the Financial Regulator to close down parts of the insurer’s business.
However, she also acknowledged that there was “some anger” towards the company’s founder. She felt Mr Quinn had been unfortunate as “he thought he was doing right”.
As other staff sat in the lounge discussing their future, one woman remarked, as her companions nodded in agreement: “These things happen for a reason and people can move on.”
Before long their conversation moved on to talk of the sudden death of RTÉ star Gerry Ryan.
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