End of the line for Eircom dream

Eircom was plundered by short-termist owners with no interest in developing the company or a modern telecommunications infrastructure, writes John Hearne

It’s only 13 years since the Eircom privatisation, but it feels like it was a generation ago.

Following intense hype, half a million of us bought into Mary O’Rourke’s vision of a share-owning society and paid €3.90 a share when the company went public in July 1999. The government cleared €6bn overnight.