For six decades Tony O’Reilly has been a byword for success. That all changed this year when the High Court heard O’Reilly, who was once Ireland’s richest man, was now insolvent. Unlike other boom-time bankrupts he didn’t go broke trying to get richer, but by attempting to rescue that iconic brand which meant so much to him, Waterford Wedgwood.
Tony O’Reilly – The Real Deal is a special hour long documentaryby RTÉ’s Business Editor David Murphy, which includes interviews with Tony O’Reilly Junior, Seamus Mallon and Michael Smurfit. The programme will also feature early footage of O’Reilly which has never been broadcast before on Irish television.
The full story of Tony O’Reilly’s life is extraordinary. He was brought up in a comfortable north Dublin home with no knowledge that his parents weren’t married and his father had another family in Co Wicklow. He never met his siblings until he was in his thirties.
Tony O’Reilly’s rugby career was unparalleled and he still holds the record for the number of tries scored by a Lions player. In business he launched Kerrygold, became boss of Heinz globally and searched for oil, while growing Waterford Wedgwood and Independent News & Media internationally.
He enjoyed a lavish lifestyle and was on first name terms with Nelson Mandela, Henry Kissinger, Robert Mugabe, Bill Clinton and George Bush Senior. However, he had his critics as well as admirers.
Watch Tony O’Reilly – The Real Deal, Monday 3 November at 9.35 pm on RTÉ One.
For more information please contact:
Laura Fitzgerald, Communications Manager, RTÉ News and Current Affairs, 087 2923931, Laura.Fitzgerald@rte.ie
