Seán Quinn
Encyclopedia
Seán Quinn is an Irish
businessman and conglomerateur, now bankrupt. In 2008 he was the richest person in Ireland, but he now has debts. The son of a small farmer, he left school at 14 years of age unable to read or write.
The Sunday Times Rich List
in 2008 estimated his personal worth to be €4.722 billion or
£3.73 billion, thereby making him the richest person in Ireland. Forbes magazine's 2008 Rich List listed him again as the richest person in Ireland, in 164th place amongst the wealthiest individuals in the world. His net worth, as of February 2008, was estimated at $6.0 billion - or approximately £3.084 billion.
In November 2005 the Quinn Group
, which was then privately owned by the Quinn family, was elsewhere estimated to be worth between €4 billion and €5 billion. In 2007 the group made a pre-tax profit of £439m. In April 2011 Kieran Wallace of KPMG was appointed as share receiver to Anglo Irish Bank (to which the Quinn Group owe over €2.8 billion) and took control of the Quinn family’s equity interest in Quinn Group. Sean Quinn and the Quinn family no longer have any role in the management, operations or ownership of the Quinn Group. Quinn was declared bankrupt on 11 November 2011.
Quinn is married to Patricia and they have five children - Seán, Colette, Ciara, Aoife and Brenda.
. These contacts enabled him to build a company spanning both sides of the Irish border when, in 1973, he borrowed £100 and started extracting gravel from his family 23 acres (93,077.8 m²) farm, washing it and selling it to local builders. The company was called Seán Quinn Quarries Ltd. From this came Quinn Cement, the basis of his wealth. In recent years Quinn diversified with his Quinn Group
playing a leading role in Ireland's hospitality industry, setting up Quinn Hotels. The centrepiece hotel was the Slieve Russell Hotel in Ballyconnell
, County Cavan
. He maintains interests in Ireland's glass, radiator and plastics industries with Quinn Glass, based in Fermanagh, and Quinn Lite Pac, based in County Longford
. As of 2009, the Quinn Group
employed more than 5,500 people throughout Ireland.
Quinn Financial Services, founded in 1996, includes the Quinn Direct insurance business. With its headquarters in Cavan
, it made €123 million profit in the first six months of 2006 (up 38% on the previous year), on sales of €386 million between January and June 2006.
In January 2007 the Quinn Group purchased Ireland's second biggest health insurance provider, Bupa Ireland
for €150 million in a deal that saved BUPA from leaving Ireland's health insurance industry. In the same month Quinn increased his share holding in the Anglo Irish Bank
to approximately 5%, for an equivalent value of €570 million - financed through the group's equity and through a deal with the Swiss based giant Credit Suisse
.
Throughout 2007 peaking in July 2008 Quinn increased his family's stake to 15% in Anglo Irish Bank. The bank along with all financial institutions in Ireland saw its share price collapse in the latter half of 2008, and on 15 January 2009 the Irish government announced it had taken control of the bank. Shares were trading for as little as 20c (from a high of €10.15c) before the takeover.
replacing Quinn as Ireland's wealthiest person.
A large part of the subsequent loss can be linked to the well-publicised, near collapse of the Anglo Irish Bank, which wiped out at least €2.8 billion of the family's wealth. It is widely believed that the Quinn Family had acquired up to a 25% stake, mainly through contracts for difference in the bank which had to be nationalised by the Irish government to prevent complete collapse. Quinn admitted in an RTÉ Prime Time interview that it had "set the company back 2 to 3 years".
In 2008 the shares or contracts for difference bought in Anglo Irish Bank dropped in value and the bank had to find a buyer for Quinn's shares. A group of clients known as the "Golden Circle" bought the shares, and, controversially, the bank lent them €451 million to buy them. The €451 million was never repaid as the Anglo Irish Bank hidden loans controversy
emerged, following which the bank was nationalised in 2009.
In 2008, Quinn Insurance was levied a record €3.25 million fine from the Financial Regulator in the Republic of Ireland with Seán Quinn personally being fined €200,000. These fines were related to loans issued from Quinn Insurance to an associated company that he controlled. "These loans breached insurance regulations and as a result of this the Financial Regulator has sanctioned Quinn Insurance and myself. I accept complete responsibility for this breach of regulation." The fines arose from a failure to notify the regulator of a loan of €288 million from Quinn Insurance to other firms in his group. The cash was used by the Quinn family to cover falling stock market investments and finance share-buying in Anglo Irish Bank. On the back of the fines, Quinn stepped down from the board of Quinn Insurance and a number of other Quinn Group boards announcing plans to restructure the boards to reflect those of a public company. In March 2010 The High Court in Dublin ruled that Quinn Insurance should be placed into administration.
Quinn Insurance had made losses of €905m in 2009, and €160m in 2010, and the Irish Government passed the Insurance (Amendment ) Bill 2011 which imposed a 2% levy on all other Insurance policies to meet an estimated €280m shortfall to the state's Insurance Compensation Fund. Because part of the losses were caused by Quinn Insurance loans to fund speculative investments for other Quinn family companies, Clare Daly
commented that - "A large percentage of insurance losses result from speculative gambling on the property market by the family and, in effect, the legislation provides for the transfer of those gambling debts on to the shoulders of hard pressed taxpayers and working people who need to insure cars, homes and so on." The cost to Irish policyholders will come to €65m annually over five years.
With Anglo Irish Bank in liquidation Quinn was pursued in 2010 for his loans from it, then about €2.8 billion secured on property worth much less. In April 2011 the loans were formally called, and an on-going series of court cases are underway in several jurisdictions. In particular, his overseas holding company, Quinn Investments Sweden, was wound up in July 2011.
In July 2011 Anglo Irish Bank was renamed as the Irish Bank Resolution Corporation
(IBRC).
It was found in late 2011 that some of the Swedish company's assets had been transferred to family-controlled companies in Cyprus
, leading to a fresh round of litigation there. It was alleged by the liquidator that property owned in Russia
worth $193m had been sold to a cousin, Peter Quinn, for $1,000 and a laptop computer. The Quinn family described the allegations as "baseless and hardly deserving of comment”.
Separately Mr Quinn's wife and children have started legal proceedings in Dublin in 2011 alleging that the €2.34 billion that he borrowed from Anglo-Irish Bank to buy the bank should not be repayable because the money was lent for the unlawful purpose of supporting the bank's share price. He has been joined as a third party in the case.
The Quinn Group liquidator's staff have said that since its liquidation in April 2011 an unusual amount of damage has been caused to the Quinn Group's property, and an executive's car was burnt out at his home.
On 11 November 2011 Mr Quinn said that he had applied for voluntary bankruptcy
in Belfast
, and issued a statement asking the media to consider his views as well as the bank's. The case was filed under his legal name of John Ignatius Quinn, using an address in Northern Ireland, and he admitted debts of €194m. Within days the IBRC said it would challenge the Belfast application in the commercial court in Dublin, alleging that Mr Quinn had only used a Republic of Ireland
address in directors' filings for 95 companies and none in Northern Ireland (at the time, personal bankruptcies lasted for 12 years in the Republic, but only for 1 year in Northern Ireland).
, United Kingdom
, Bulgaria
and Poland
. The Quinn Group took control of the Prague
Hilton
, the largest five-star hotel in Prague, in 2004. It paid €145 million for the 788-room Hilton and the Ibis Karlin. The group also acquired the Hilton Hotel in Sofia, Bulgaria.
In 2005 the group bought The De Vere Belfry hotel and golf course in England
. In 2004 Quinn Direct insurance expanded into the UK motor and commercial insurance market. Quinn Direct Insurance sponsored the British Masters tournament there in May 2006.
On 7 March 2007, Seán Quinn spoke publicly for the first time in 10 years at a conference at the Slieve Russell hotel organised by the Cavan County Enterprise Board, at which he outlined the strategic aims of the Quinn Group in the immediate future. As of April 2011 Sean Quinn and the Quinn family no longer have any role in the management, operations or ownership of the Quinn Group.
, County Fermanagh
. He comes from a Gaelic Athletic Association
family in Fermanagh on the border with Cavan
where he and his brother Peter played football for Teemore
. Peter Quinn
became a financial advisor and in 1990 he was elected President of the Gaelic Athletic Association, Ireland's largest sporting and cultural organisation, in which role he served between 1991–1994. The brothers have a very close relationship with Peter playing a key role in the Quinn Group
. Seán Quinn himself captained the Fermanagh team
. The Quinn Group
is also an important sponsor of Fermanagh GAA
. Quinn's involvement in the Gaelic Athletic Association is, in the words of one commentator, "a constant theme throughout the group". In the words of one associate, "The GAA forms a big part of Seán's life. Aside from that, he drinks the occasional jar in pubs in Ballyconnell and enjoys the odd game of poker."
His private life is closely guarded and he rarely grants interviews. His five children all work in the family business. His son, Seán, lined out for the Fermanagh minor team
. He lives with his wife and family in Ballyconnell
, Tullyhaw
, County Cavan
, next to his landmark Slieve Russell Hotel and just down the road from his birthplace in Derrylin
.
On 18 May 1999 Seán Quinn was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Laws from NUI Maynooth. He also holds an Honorary Doctorate from Queens University Belfast (QUB).
Irish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
businessman and conglomerateur, now bankrupt. In 2008 he was the richest person in Ireland, but he now has debts. The son of a small farmer, he left school at 14 years of age unable to read or write.
The Sunday Times Rich List
Sunday Times Rich List
The Sunday Times Rich List is a list of the 1,000 wealthiest people or families in the United Kingdom, updated annually in April and published as a magazine supplement by British national Sunday newspaper The Sunday Times since 1989...
in 2008 estimated his personal worth to be €4.722 billion or
£3.73 billion, thereby making him the richest person in Ireland. Forbes magazine's 2008 Rich List listed him again as the richest person in Ireland, in 164th place amongst the wealthiest individuals in the world. His net worth, as of February 2008, was estimated at $6.0 billion - or approximately £3.084 billion.
In November 2005 the Quinn Group
Quinn Group
The QUINN group is a business group headquartered in Derrylin, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. The privately owned group has ventured into cement and concrete products, container glass, general insurance, radiators, plastics, hotels, and real estate...
, which was then privately owned by the Quinn family, was elsewhere estimated to be worth between €4 billion and €5 billion. In 2007 the group made a pre-tax profit of £439m. In April 2011 Kieran Wallace of KPMG was appointed as share receiver to Anglo Irish Bank (to which the Quinn Group owe over €2.8 billion) and took control of the Quinn family’s equity interest in Quinn Group. Sean Quinn and the Quinn family no longer have any role in the management, operations or ownership of the Quinn Group. Quinn was declared bankrupt on 11 November 2011.
Quinn is married to Patricia and they have five children - Seán, Colette, Ciara, Aoife and Brenda.
Irish business
In an interview with Ireland's Sunday Business Post, Seán Quinn attributed his initial success to the contacts he developed through the Gaelic Athletic AssociationGaelic Athletic Association
The Gaelic Athletic Association is an amateur Irish and international cultural and sporting organisation focused primarily on promoting Gaelic games, which include the traditional Irish sports of hurling, camogie, Gaelic football, handball and rounders...
. These contacts enabled him to build a company spanning both sides of the Irish border when, in 1973, he borrowed £100 and started extracting gravel from his family 23 acres (93,077.8 m²) farm, washing it and selling it to local builders. The company was called Seán Quinn Quarries Ltd. From this came Quinn Cement, the basis of his wealth. In recent years Quinn diversified with his Quinn Group
Quinn Group
The QUINN group is a business group headquartered in Derrylin, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. The privately owned group has ventured into cement and concrete products, container glass, general insurance, radiators, plastics, hotels, and real estate...
playing a leading role in Ireland's hospitality industry, setting up Quinn Hotels. The centrepiece hotel was the Slieve Russell Hotel in Ballyconnell
Ballyconnell
Ballyconnell is a town in County Cavan, Ireland. It is situated on the N87 national secondary road at the junction of four townlands Annagh, Cullyleenan, Doon and Derryginny in the parish of Tomregan, Barony of Tullyhaw. The town has an altitude of 55 metres above sea level...
, County Cavan
County Cavan
County Cavan is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Border Region and is also located in the province of Ulster. It is named after the town of Cavan. Cavan County Council is the local authority for the county...
. He maintains interests in Ireland's glass, radiator and plastics industries with Quinn Glass, based in Fermanagh, and Quinn Lite Pac, based in County Longford
County Longford
County Longford is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Midlands Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Longford.Longford County Council is the local authority for the county...
. As of 2009, the Quinn Group
Quinn Group
The QUINN group is a business group headquartered in Derrylin, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. The privately owned group has ventured into cement and concrete products, container glass, general insurance, radiators, plastics, hotels, and real estate...
employed more than 5,500 people throughout Ireland.
Quinn Financial Services, founded in 1996, includes the Quinn Direct insurance business. With its headquarters in Cavan
Cavan
Cavan is the county town of County Cavan in the Republic of Ireland. The town lies in the north central part of Ireland, near the border with Northern Ireland...
, it made €123 million profit in the first six months of 2006 (up 38% on the previous year), on sales of €386 million between January and June 2006.
In January 2007 the Quinn Group purchased Ireland's second biggest health insurance provider, Bupa Ireland
Bupa
Bupa is a large British healthcare organisation, with bases on three continents and more than ten million customers in over 200 countries. It is a private healthcare company, in direct contrast to the UK's National Health Services, which are tax-funded healthcare systems and do not require private...
for €150 million in a deal that saved BUPA from leaving Ireland's health insurance industry. In the same month Quinn increased his share holding in the Anglo Irish Bank
Anglo Irish Bank
Anglo Irish Bank was a bank based in Ireland with its headquarters in Dublin from 1964 to 2011. It went into wind-down mode after nationalisation in 2009....
to approximately 5%, for an equivalent value of €570 million - financed through the group's equity and through a deal with the Swiss based giant Credit Suisse
Credit Suisse
The Credit Suisse Group AG is a Swiss multinational financial services company headquartered in Zurich, with more than 250 branches in Switzerland and operations in more than 50 countries.-History:...
.
Throughout 2007 peaking in July 2008 Quinn increased his family's stake to 15% in Anglo Irish Bank. The bank along with all financial institutions in Ireland saw its share price collapse in the latter half of 2008, and on 15 January 2009 the Irish government announced it had taken control of the bank. Shares were trading for as little as 20c (from a high of €10.15c) before the takeover.
Recession of 2008
Forbes Rich List had estimated that the Quinn family's net worth took a major hit in 2008-09, with Denis O'BrienDenis O'Brien
Denis O'Brien is an Irish businessman with international connections. An Arts graduate of University College Dublin, O'Brien has received a MBA in corporate finance from Boston College in 1982, and was later given an honorary doctorate by University College Dublin.O'Brien has involvement with...
replacing Quinn as Ireland's wealthiest person.
Anglo-Irish Bank investment
A large part of the subsequent loss can be linked to the well-publicised, near collapse of the Anglo Irish Bank, which wiped out at least €2.8 billion of the family's wealth. It is widely believed that the Quinn Family had acquired up to a 25% stake, mainly through contracts for difference in the bank which had to be nationalised by the Irish government to prevent complete collapse. Quinn admitted in an RTÉ Prime Time interview that it had "set the company back 2 to 3 years".
In 2008 the shares or contracts for difference bought in Anglo Irish Bank dropped in value and the bank had to find a buyer for Quinn's shares. A group of clients known as the "Golden Circle" bought the shares, and, controversially, the bank lent them €451 million to buy them. The €451 million was never repaid as the Anglo Irish Bank hidden loans controversy
Anglo Irish Bank hidden loans controversy
The Anglo Irish Bank hidden loans controversy began in the Republic of Ireland in December 2008 when the chairman of Anglo Irish Bank, Ireland's third largest bank, admitted he had hidden a total of €87 million in loans from the bank, triggering a series of incidents which led to the eventual...
emerged, following which the bank was nationalised in 2009.
Quinn Insurance
In 2008, Quinn Insurance was levied a record €3.25 million fine from the Financial Regulator in the Republic of Ireland with Seán Quinn personally being fined €200,000. These fines were related to loans issued from Quinn Insurance to an associated company that he controlled. "These loans breached insurance regulations and as a result of this the Financial Regulator has sanctioned Quinn Insurance and myself. I accept complete responsibility for this breach of regulation." The fines arose from a failure to notify the regulator of a loan of €288 million from Quinn Insurance to other firms in his group. The cash was used by the Quinn family to cover falling stock market investments and finance share-buying in Anglo Irish Bank. On the back of the fines, Quinn stepped down from the board of Quinn Insurance and a number of other Quinn Group boards announcing plans to restructure the boards to reflect those of a public company. In March 2010 The High Court in Dublin ruled that Quinn Insurance should be placed into administration.
Quinn Insurance had made losses of €905m in 2009, and €160m in 2010, and the Irish Government passed the Insurance (Amendment ) Bill 2011 which imposed a 2% levy on all other Insurance policies to meet an estimated €280m shortfall to the state's Insurance Compensation Fund. Because part of the losses were caused by Quinn Insurance loans to fund speculative investments for other Quinn family companies, Clare Daly
Clare Daly
Clare Daly is an Irish Socialist Party politician and trade union activist. She was elected as a Teachta Dála for the Dublin North constituency at the 2011 general election. She was previously a Socialist Party councillor for the Swords electoral area on Fingal County Council.-Early life:Daly was...
commented that - "A large percentage of insurance losses result from speculative gambling on the property market by the family and, in effect, the legislation provides for the transfer of those gambling debts on to the shoulders of hard pressed taxpayers and working people who need to insure cars, homes and so on." The cost to Irish policyholders will come to €65m annually over five years.
Liquidation litigation from 2010
With Anglo Irish Bank in liquidation Quinn was pursued in 2010 for his loans from it, then about €2.8 billion secured on property worth much less. In April 2011 the loans were formally called, and an on-going series of court cases are underway in several jurisdictions. In particular, his overseas holding company, Quinn Investments Sweden, was wound up in July 2011.
In July 2011 Anglo Irish Bank was renamed as the Irish Bank Resolution Corporation
Irish Bank Resolution Corporation
The Irish Bank Resolution Corporation is the name given to the entity formed in 2011 by the court-mandated merger of the state-owned banking institutions Anglo Irish Bank and Irish Nationwide Building Society....
(IBRC).
It was found in late 2011 that some of the Swedish company's assets had been transferred to family-controlled companies in Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
, leading to a fresh round of litigation there. It was alleged by the liquidator that property owned in Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
worth $193m had been sold to a cousin, Peter Quinn, for $1,000 and a laptop computer. The Quinn family described the allegations as "baseless and hardly deserving of comment”.
Separately Mr Quinn's wife and children have started legal proceedings in Dublin in 2011 alleging that the €2.34 billion that he borrowed from Anglo-Irish Bank to buy the bank should not be repayable because the money was lent for the unlawful purpose of supporting the bank's share price. He has been joined as a third party in the case.
The Quinn Group liquidator's staff have said that since its liquidation in April 2011 an unusual amount of damage has been caused to the Quinn Group's property, and an executive's car was burnt out at his home.
On 11 November 2011 Mr Quinn said that he had applied for voluntary bankruptcy
Bankruptcy in the United Kingdom
Bankruptcy in the United Kingdom does not have a singular law. There is one system for England and Wales, one for Northern Ireland and one for Scotland.Across the United Kingdom, bankruptcy refers only to insolvency of individuals and partnerships...
in Belfast
Belfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
, and issued a statement asking the media to consider his views as well as the bank's. The case was filed under his legal name of John Ignatius Quinn, using an address in Northern Ireland, and he admitted debts of €194m. Within days the IBRC said it would challenge the Belfast application in the commercial court in Dublin, alleging that Mr Quinn had only used a Republic of Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
address in directors' filings for 95 companies and none in Northern Ireland (at the time, personal bankruptcies lasted for 12 years in the Republic, but only for 1 year in Northern Ireland).
Overseas business
The Quinn Group had expanded into the hospitality industry overseas, with hotels in the Czech RepublicCzech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
and Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
. The Quinn Group took control of the Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
Hilton
Hilton Hotels
Hilton Hotels & Resorts is an international chain of full-service hotels and resorts founded by Conrad Hilton and now owned by Hilton Worldwide. Hilton hotels are either owned by, managed by, or franchised to independent operators by Hilton Worldwide. Hilton Hotels became the first coast-to-coast...
, the largest five-star hotel in Prague, in 2004. It paid €145 million for the 788-room Hilton and the Ibis Karlin. The group also acquired the Hilton Hotel in Sofia, Bulgaria.
In 2005 the group bought The De Vere Belfry hotel and golf course in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. In 2004 Quinn Direct insurance expanded into the UK motor and commercial insurance market. Quinn Direct Insurance sponsored the British Masters tournament there in May 2006.
On 7 March 2007, Seán Quinn spoke publicly for the first time in 10 years at a conference at the Slieve Russell hotel organised by the Cavan County Enterprise Board, at which he outlined the strategic aims of the Quinn Group in the immediate future. As of April 2011 Sean Quinn and the Quinn family no longer have any role in the management, operations or ownership of the Quinn Group.
Personal life
Quinn was born in DerrylinDerrylin
Derrylin is a small village and townland in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It is on the A509 road between Enniskillen and the border with County Cavan . It had a population of 423 in the 2001 Census.-History:...
, County Fermanagh
County Fermanagh
Fermanagh District Council is the only one of the 26 district councils in Northern Ireland that contains all of the county it is named after. The district council also contains a small section of County Tyrone in the Dromore and Kilskeery road areas....
. He comes from a Gaelic Athletic Association
Gaelic Athletic Association
The Gaelic Athletic Association is an amateur Irish and international cultural and sporting organisation focused primarily on promoting Gaelic games, which include the traditional Irish sports of hurling, camogie, Gaelic football, handball and rounders...
family in Fermanagh on the border with Cavan
Cavan
Cavan is the county town of County Cavan in the Republic of Ireland. The town lies in the north central part of Ireland, near the border with Northern Ireland...
where he and his brother Peter played football for Teemore
Teemore
Teemore is a small village and townland in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It is three miles south of Derrylin. In the 2001 Census it had a population of 400....
. Peter Quinn
Peter Quinn (GAA President)
Peter Quinn served as President of the Gaelic Athletic Association from 1991 until 1994. A native of Teemore, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland, Quinn is a financial advisor by profession. He is also a brother of Seán Quinn.-References:...
became a financial advisor and in 1990 he was elected President of the Gaelic Athletic Association, Ireland's largest sporting and cultural organisation, in which role he served between 1991–1994. The brothers have a very close relationship with Peter playing a key role in the Quinn Group
Quinn Group
The QUINN group is a business group headquartered in Derrylin, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. The privately owned group has ventured into cement and concrete products, container glass, general insurance, radiators, plastics, hotels, and real estate...
. Seán Quinn himself captained the Fermanagh team
Fermanagh GAA
The Fermanagh County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or Fermanagh GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland. The county board is also responsible for the Fermanagh inter-county teams-History:...
. The Quinn Group
Quinn Group
The QUINN group is a business group headquartered in Derrylin, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. The privately owned group has ventured into cement and concrete products, container glass, general insurance, radiators, plastics, hotels, and real estate...
is also an important sponsor of Fermanagh GAA
Fermanagh GAA
The Fermanagh County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or Fermanagh GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland. The county board is also responsible for the Fermanagh inter-county teams-History:...
. Quinn's involvement in the Gaelic Athletic Association is, in the words of one commentator, "a constant theme throughout the group". In the words of one associate, "The GAA forms a big part of Seán's life. Aside from that, he drinks the occasional jar in pubs in Ballyconnell and enjoys the odd game of poker."
His private life is closely guarded and he rarely grants interviews. His five children all work in the family business. His son, Seán, lined out for the Fermanagh minor team
Fermanagh GAA
The Fermanagh County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or Fermanagh GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland. The county board is also responsible for the Fermanagh inter-county teams-History:...
. He lives with his wife and family in Ballyconnell
Ballyconnell
Ballyconnell is a town in County Cavan, Ireland. It is situated on the N87 national secondary road at the junction of four townlands Annagh, Cullyleenan, Doon and Derryginny in the parish of Tomregan, Barony of Tullyhaw. The town has an altitude of 55 metres above sea level...
, Tullyhaw
Tullyhaw
Tullyhaw is a Barony in County Cavan. The area has been in constant occupation since pre-4000 B.C....
, County Cavan
County Cavan
County Cavan is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Border Region and is also located in the province of Ulster. It is named after the town of Cavan. Cavan County Council is the local authority for the county...
, next to his landmark Slieve Russell Hotel and just down the road from his birthplace in Derrylin
Derrylin
Derrylin is a small village and townland in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It is on the A509 road between Enniskillen and the border with County Cavan . It had a population of 423 in the 2001 Census.-History:...
.
On 18 May 1999 Seán Quinn was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Laws from NUI Maynooth. He also holds an Honorary Doctorate from Queens University Belfast (QUB).