ONE OF IRELANDโ€™s greatest businessman, Brendan Oโ€™Regan was most certainly a guy ahead of his time.

Born in Sixmilebridge in May 1917, he died at the age of 90 in February 2008. Along the way, he developed Shannon Airport, invented the concept of the duty-free shop, transformed the Mid-West of Ireland, became involved in peace efforts between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland and founded the Shannon College of Hotel Management.

Founding director of Aer Rianta International and ex Director of Shannon Airport, Liam Skelly worked closely with Oโ€™Regan.

Indeed, the Clare native was one of the reasons why Liam came to live and work in the Banner County. He had been working in the office of the auditor and controller general where he audited the Department of Foreign Affairs, Aer Lingus and Mr Oโ€™Regan because of the success of the first Duty Free Shop in the world, created in Shannon in the 1947.

Liam recalled, โ€œThe audit office audited Brendan Oโ€™Reganโ€™s and they were complaining to him about the controls not being right, this and that not being right, he said if he could get anybody to do it for me Iโ€™d take them, I wasnโ€™t on the audit down here but I heard Brendan Oโ€™Regan was looking for somebody to come down and take over. Most of the lads I worked with were Dublin and they didnโ€™t want to leave Dublin, they said that the health arrangements in a job like with Brendan Oโ€™Regan wouldnโ€™t be as good as the civil service or a semi-state companies so they stayed but I did an interview and got the job, he interviewed me in Dublin in the Gressham, I got the job and came down to work for Brendan, I was in charge of the shops, the control of all the shops, the goods and the cash, I went on from there, I got promoted to take over the catering division in Shannon even though I knew nothing about catering but once you were a catering division manager you were in the top rank apart from the head manโ€.

Growing up, Liam had an interest in aviation as airlines were beginning to take off. โ€œI got through Aer Rianta which wasnโ€™t an airline but a company running airports for the airlines, I was happy to have got from the civil defence into Aer Rianta, we went around auditing but I was doing state and semi-state companies so Iโ€™d have been auditing the Department of Foreign Affairs, the Department of Justice, the Department of Education were paying out to colleges for having so many pupils and youโ€™d have to be sure they werenโ€™t adding onto their numbers and that they were under eighteen. Weโ€™d find a list of students from the sixth year final class and theyโ€™d be well over the age and they would have them reduced in age so those kind of mistakes were punished. I came down to work in Shannon when Brendan Oโ€™Regan had the job going and I havenโ€™t looked back sinceโ€.

First impressions of Brendan were positive for Liam. โ€œI thought he was a fantastic man, he was a man way ahead of his years, he had brilliant ideas about everything, he not alone wanted to do his own business but he wanted to help the whole region of Clare and the Shannon region. He set up the Shannon Industrial Estate, he got Paul Quigley in as the Head, he felt that creating employment was so important that he did a master job, I thought there was nobody like Brendan Oโ€™Reganโ€.

His colleagues in Dublin were not as enamoured with Oโ€™Regan. โ€œThe Dublin crowd wouldnโ€™t have been thinking much about Brendan Oโ€™Regan, they didnโ€™t look beyond their place. When I came down I was thrilled to be working with Brendan Oโ€™Regan, he then had me on the Board of The Old Ground, I used to go over and do the accounts for The Old Ground Hotel and stay for weekends, he was grand, a very nice man. I remember he asked me once to come over fast and help him out, something had gone wrong, Clare were playing the very same day and I said โ€˜Mr Oโ€™Regan for Godโ€™s sake will you turn on your radio fast Clare are about to win a big match and youโ€™re asking me to come over, Iโ€™ll be over in half an hour when this is overโ€™. He was really nice.

โ€œHe set up the Shannon College of Hotel Management, he did wonders around the Shannon region, he didnโ€™t want anything for himself, he had a deal which gave him commission on what profits he made but he felt that what he was getting was too much and if he was getting more than the Department executives they would crib and change it around so he said please reduce me to give me a bit lower than them because he knew that would retain himโ€.

Sadly the level of innovation shown by Oโ€™Regan has never been replicated in Shannon. Giving his view as to why this is the case, Liam stated, โ€œI think that they are probably brought up differently, if they were selected by the Dublin people to take over then they donโ€™t say weโ€™re going to break loose from you or do this or that, itโ€™s up to the politicians to decide but at this stage I donโ€™t know what should happen in Shannonโ€.

Related News

shane flanagan 1
Disgraced former Garda to plead guilty to PULSE disclosure
niall gilligan 1
Niall Gilligan's farm firm records combined profits of โ‚ฌ207k in 2023 & 2024
shannon airport time capsule 3
Shannon Airport's history of the skies goes underground with new time capsule
helga himmelsbach ballyvaughan protest
Lisdoonvarna widow laments absence of restorative justice in dangerous driving case
Latest News
o'callaghans mills v clarecastle 20-10-25 rg seรกn doyle ciaran cooney 1
Mills fitness levels were 'through the roof' says victorious manager Doyle
niall gilligan 1
Niall Gilligan's farm firm records combined profits of โ‚ฌ207k in 2023 & 2024
shannon airport time capsule 3
Shannon Airport's history of the skies goes underground with new time capsule
corofin v clondegad 27-09-25 sean mcallister 2
Race for U21A football honours wide open with wins for Bricks, Cooraclare, Ennistymon & Clondegad
helga himmelsbach ballyvaughan protest
Lisdoonvarna widow laments absence of restorative justice in dangerous driving case
Premium
Lisdoonvarna widow laments absence of restorative justice in dangerous driving case
Relief for Rocky as Mills seal return to merciless senior
Community safety 'coming to a head in Kilrush' prompting Cllrs to seek 'urgent meeting'
Further charges brought against pro-Palestinian activists for Shannon Airport breach
Clooney/Quin win senior promotion

Advertisement

Subscribe for just โ‚ฌ3 per month

If youโ€™re here, you care about County Clare. So do we. Did you rely on us for Covid-19 updates, follow our election coverage, or visit The Clare Echo every week for breaking news and sport? The Clare Echo invests in local journalism and we want to safeguard its future in our county. By becoming a subscriber you are supporting what we do, will receive access to all our premium articles and a better experience, while helping us improve our offering to you. Subscribe to clareecho.ie and get the first six months for just โ‚ฌ3 a month (less than 75c per week), and thereafter โ‚ฌ8 per month. Cancel anytime, limited time offer. T&Cs Apply. www.clareecho.ie.