Business brain made Albert Reynolds the dancehall king

Long before entering the political stage, Albert Reynolds had already forged a successful career by changing the Irish showbusiness landscape.

Almost half a century before paving the way for the Northern Irish peace process, the man from Rooskey in Co Roscommon was working in a number of jobs before landing a position as an employment clerk in Bord na Móna and eventually in CIÉ as a clerical officer in Dromod in Leitrim in the early 1950s. Following a course in accountancy, he was soon offered a promotion in the CIÉ accountancy office in Ballymote.

However, it was his brother Jim’s return from Australia which led him into the business which was to make him famous.