Loyalty to Quinn remains
Editorial Department • Published 24 Nov 2011 13:00
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Over the decades that marked the amazing development of Sean Quinn's business empire, he was never, ever one to court the spotlight.
For a man who had created a manufacturing, insurance and property business of the scale that he did, he was quiet and unassuming when it came to being in the public eye.
He himself says he wasn't the type to put on the black tie and head off to Dublin and London for fancy engagements. He was a home bird, who loved to stay local, meet local friends and pull on the wellington boots to walk round the mountains where he was reared.
Having brought hundreds of jobs to Fermanagh and many of those specifically to the Derrylin area and thousands across the world, it is not surprising that he has received hundreds of good wishes from the people he never turned his back on over the years.
He was revered as a man who brought employment and prosperity to an area that, without him, no doubt would have been a much lesser place.
And it hurts the people he employed that he now is hurting.
It is again no surprise that the man who started with one lorry and a £600 loan drawing stone from the family farm is not willing to let current profoundly serious events stop him completely in his tracks.
The huge glass structures and factories may no longer be his place of business, but he has moved on. He has set up a new office at Derrylin business park and showing the same spirit that he did nearly 40 years ago, he is resilient and focused on moving on and rebuilding.
No matter what the feelings are about how the present problems facing Sean Quinn were caused, there is no doubt that he has been a man who has never forgotten the people of his area and has continued to live and work among them.
So many with talent and drive leave the area, never to return. With Sean Quinn this was never so. He shared his time, talents and good fortune with the people of this area and for many, such is their loyalty, the tragedy that has befallen Sean Quinn and his family is their tragedy too.
This article appeared in Impartial Reporter 24 Nov 11
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