High flyer in high finance but kept a very low profile

UNLIKE many property developers, whose public profile matched the size of the buildings they were constructing, Paddy McKillen is the very definition of low key.

Born in Belfast and now aged 55, McKillen built his reputation on hard work, long hours and a tough negotiating stance.

He first sprang to prominence thanks to his role in developing the Jervis Street Shopping Centre off O’Connell Street, Dublin, in the late ’80s.