Misplaced loyalty of Quinn supporters

In Navan, we have our own monument to the demise of the Celtic Tiger, a landmark structure in the business park on the banks of the river Boyne. Not only does it recall those economic boom times, but it is a constant reminder of the saga centring around the former Anglo Irish Bank and Sean Quinn. For the 'high viz' building is the former European headquarters of Quinn Insurance, which once employed around 200 workers. Jobs which everybody gloried in when they were announced for the county, but which then became victim of the Quinn gamble with Anglo Irish Bank, now the Irish Bank Resolution corporation (IRBC), a deal which is subject to ongoing court proceedings. At its peak, the Quinn group of companies was a major employer in the Cavan and Fermanagh areas, and later Dublin and Meath, through a concrete, glass and insurance empire. In the height of the economic good times, Sean Quinn started buying shares in banks, airlines and oil companies. In 2006, he began building up a secret stake in Anglo Irish Bank using the Contracts for Difference scheme. This scheme is popular with publicity shy investors. CFD investors pay small deposits and gamble that the share prices will rise. If shares rise, the investors reap huge profits. If they fall, the investors have to make up the losses. If Anglo's share rose, Sean Quinn would be able to buy them cheaply at the low price agreed well in advance and then sell at a profit. The shares rose to an all-time high in June 2007, but then began the crunch and the share price collapse. To cover his personal losses, Sean Quinn turned to the company, Quinn Insurance, for a loan of €288 million to cover his losses on the Anglo deal, in 2008. Two years later, the Financial Regulator hit Quinn Insurance with a record €3.2 million fine, and Sean Quinn was fined €200,000, and stepped down as director and chairman. In March 2010, the High Court put Quinn insurance into administration, and a year later, Anglo appointed a receiver to the Quinn Group. Last Sunday week, there was a huge display of solidarity with the Quinn family in Ballyconnell, Co Cavan, one of those places where the family has provided huge employment. These people may feel that Quinn has got a raw deal from the former Anglo Irish and the State authorities. They were joined by many high profile figures from the Gaelic Athletic Association - Peter Quinn, brother of Sean and father of Peter Darragh Quinn, who is evading Irish authorities by remaining in the north, is a former GAA national president - as well as high profile Enniskillen priest, Fr Brian Darcy. These GAA figures included Sean Boylan and Colm O'Rourke of Meath, Joe Kernan of Armagh and Mickey Harte of Tyrone. The rally, part of a long game being played, was an affront to the Irish State's justice system which has been trying to deal with the outfall from all the various deals surrounding Anglo Irish Bank, which has had to be rescued by the Irish taxpayer with billions of euro. By the end of the week, the GAA had issued a statement from its national headquarters at Croke Park, saying it was "entirely inappropriate for the GAA to become involved in matters outside its remit" in response to the links being made with the rally, while Fine Gael wrapped members on the knuckles for commenting on judicial cases, directed at MEP and former GAA national president, Sean Kelly, who has spoke in support of the event. Last month, after being found in contempt of court orders not to interfere with their international property group, Sean Quinn Jnr was jailed for three months. Peter Darragh Quinn was sentenced in his absence, and Sean Quinn senior was kept out of jail to help the IBRC unravel the asset-stripping scheme. The bank claims that Quinns still have access to 500 million worth of property in Russia, Ukraine and India, yielding an estimated 32 million dollars in annual rent, including the Kutuzoff Tower in Moscow, the Ukrania Shopping Centre in Kiev and the Q City Business Park in Hyperabad. Meanwhile, the former Quinn Insurance building lies idle in the Navan Business Park, with nobody working there, or no rental income.