Butler brothers secure stay on order restricting them from acting as company directors

Lawyers for Colum and Ciaran Butler on Tuesday successfully applied for a stay on the order, after submitting their clients would require time to get their affairs in order

Colum and Ciaran O'Brien are behind a number of Starbucks cafes. File picture: AP /Gene J Puskar

Two brothers behind a number of high-profile Irish franchises — including several Starbucks cafes, TGI Fridays, Mao and Hard Rock Cafe — have secured a stay on a court order restricting them from acting as directors.

In a judgment published last month, Ms Justice Nessa Cahill found Colum and Ciaran Butler failed to prove they acted responsibly in the operation of one of their companies, Downtul Ltd, which leased a premises at St Stephen’s Green, Dublin, that operated as a Starbucks. Downtul was placed in voluntary liquidation in November 2022.