Taoiseach leads tributes following death of Irish business titan Tony O'Reilly

Taoiseach Simon Harris described Mr O'Reilly as "a giant of sport, business and media" who left permanent legacies in all three.

The Taoiseach is among those to have paid tribute to businessman Tony O’Reilly, widely regarded as one of Ireland’s greatest business figures and as a Lions rugby legend, who died in hospital in Dublin on Saturday. He was 88.

In a statement, the O'Reilly family said: “In the coming days there will be many worthy tributes made to Tony O’Reilly’s unique and extraordinary achievements in the fields of business and sport - as well as to his extraordinary philanthropic vision which was best evidenced by the establishment of the Ireland Funds at a dark time in this island’s history.