SEAN Quinn’s on the run nephew could be drafted in to “repair the damage” between his family and the American investors that own the former Quinn Group in Derrylin.

As Mr. Quinn’s dream to regain control of the business he started 40 years ago appears to be now in tatters, it looks like it will be up to the family to step in to salvage what they can.

Last week the one time billionaire had his €500,000 per year contract with his former company terminated following a bitter dispute with its senior management team.

The owners of Quinn Industrial Holdings Ltd (QIHL) had issued Mr. Quinn with an ultimatum warning him that he faced having his contract ended if he did not comply with a number of conditions. The financiers asked him to withdraw his demand for an equity stake in the business, a seat on the board and to promote and engage with the senior staff in a constructive manner. They also requested he withdraw allegations of impropriety against the management.

But after a number of meetings between representatives of Mr. Quinn and management the only option was to part ways with him and his son Sean Jnr, who was also a consultant at the company. It has since emerged that Mr. Quinn will not receive a pay-off after his contract was ended.

However, in a bid to one day pursue commercial opportunities with the company, this newspaper understands that Peter Darragh Quinn, Mr. Quinn’s nephew and the son of former GAA President Peter Quinn, could be tasked with attempting to improve relations between the family and the U.S based financiers.

“There will be no Quinn at the helm under the current ownership structure. But Peter Jnr is acknowledged to be bright and capable. He would be a very able dealer on behalf of the family. His father is still highly respected locally and nationally. Peter Jnr has suffered more damage through this whole process than he deserved. It is speculated that he may play a role in helping them to re-establish themselves in some way,” said a well informed source.

An arrest warrant was issued for Peter Jnr in 2012 when he failed to appear at the High Court in Dublin. His lawyer told the court that his client was too ill to attend the sentencing, but shortly afterwards he had returned to his home in Fermanagh. The authorities in the Republic of Ireland cannot force him to serve his sentence if he has left their jurisdiction. An Irish judge had ruled that he, along with his uncle and cousin Sean Jnr, were in contempt after they put international property worth millions of pounds beyond the reach of the former Anglo Irish Bank.

According to a source, Peter Jnr and Mr. Quinn’s daughter Colette could be in a position to address the unresolved difficulties.

“The challenge Peter Jnr and Colette will have stepping up is trying to find a way to repair the damage done to the family’s relationship with investors and the management. After that is done, they can start looking at the commercial possibilities,” said the source.

Following the takeover of the former Quinn Group in December 2014, it soon emerged that Mr. Quinn was not happy with the role of consultant and instead wanted to regain control of the business he lost in 2011 leading to a rift between him and senior colleagues.

In an email to staff last week, the company’s directors explained how they believed that recruiting Mr. Quinn two years ago “would enable us to benefit from the wealth of experience that Sean had built up since he founded the businesses.”

But they added: “As time has progressed it has become evident that Sean’s expectations for his role and the ownership structure of QIHL are at odds with the strategic direction of the businesses.”

“Accordingly, it has been mutually agreed between the parties that QIHL’s consultancy arrangement with Sean Quinn and Sean Quinn Jnr will be discontinued, albeit Sean will have continued access to office facilities for his own personal use.”

In an uncharacteristically short statement to The Impartial Reporter moments later, Mr. Quinn said: “As has been well publicised, there have been commercial differences between me and the stakeholders arising from the recent restructuring of the company.

“I confirm that an agreement has now been reached with QBRC which creates a pathway for the Quinn family to potentially realise its ambitions over time. Arising from this positive development, I have agreed to stand aside from my contract with Quinn Industrial Holdings Limited to facilitate that process.”