Gerry Gannon [1] is an Irish builder and property developer since the 1980s. Gannon played a significant role in the Irish construction industry in the lead up the bursting of the Irish property bubble.[ citation needed ] Gannon was one of the key figures involved in the[ citation needed ] Anglo Irish Bank hidden loans controversy, which was a contributing element in the development of the post-2008 Irish banking crisis.
Gannon is best known for large housing and apartment developments in North County Dublin particularly those around Malahide Marina in the early 1990s and later around Belcamp and Clongriffin in the early 2000s.
Gannon has sometimes been referred to in the Irish media as "the man in the hat".
Gannon is a native of County Roscommon. [2] Married to Margaret, the couple had one son and four daughters. Their daughter Emma died aged 6, whilst their adult son Peter died on 8 July 2013. [3]
Gannon started his builder activities in the 1980s in London while working for his father's construction firm. Gannon and Michael Smurfit jointly owned the Kildare Hotel and Golf Club, known as the K Club, until Smurfit purchased Gannon's 49% stake for €40 million in 2012 via NAMA.
In 1986, through the firm Structural Developments Ltd build at Castle Village in Celbridge.[ clarification needed ] In 1988 through another firm – Noteworthy Limited – with partner Michael Anglim, Gannon planned to build 710 houses at Brackenstown close to Swords. At the time it was one of the largest schemes submitted to Dublin County Council. Permission was granted for the scheme in October 1988. The scheme at the time was said to be worth upwards of £40 million. The site on which the houses were built was bought by Noteworthy Ltd as a parcel of land in 1987. The land was zoned for residential purposes in 1983 against the recommendation of the Council’s planning officials. In April 1990, Gannon, now trading through Gannon Homes, sought permission for a £70 m residential scheme and a shopping centre on a 110-acre site on the Malahide road. The scheme involved 915 houses on a 95-acre site fronting the Malahide Road and the Hole in the Wall road at Ayrfield. They also lodged planning applications for a drive-in restaurant, a pub and a library. The firm bought the land from two sites. The 95 acres were bought from Abbey Group and the 15-acre site was the site of the former Clare Manor Hotel. [4]
Gannon has owned Ericsson R&D facility in Athlone, County Westmeath for several years. In 2017 it was reported that it would be offered for sale for more than €19m. [5]
The 'Maple 10', also known as the Anglo 10 or the Golden Circle, was a group of Irish investors. The Maple 10 besides Gerry Gannon include Jackson O'Sullivan, John McCabe, Paddy McKillen, Jerry Conlan, Joe O’Reilly, Patrick Kearney, Brian O’Farrell, Gerry Maguire and Sean Reilly. [6] [7] The Irish Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) examines the file on Anglo's "Maple 10" deals. [8]
As reported by the Irish Independent newspapers on 20 February 2011, "a portfolio of properties worth about €12m was transferred into the name of developer Gerry Gannon's wife, Margaret, between 21 May and 10 December 2009". [9]
Anglo Irish Bank was an Irish bank headquartered in Dublin from 1964 to 2011. It began to wind down after nationalisation in 2009. In July 2011 Anglo Irish merged with the Irish Nationwide Building Society, forming a new company named the Irish Bank Resolution Corporation. Michael Noonan, the Minister for Finance stated that the name change was important in order to remove "the negative international references associated with the appalling failings of both institutions and their previous managements".
Belfield is a small enclave, not quite a suburb, in Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown, Ireland. It is synonymous with the main campus of University College Dublin.
Malahide is an affluent coastal settlement in Fingal, County Dublin, Ireland, situated 14 kilometres (9 mi) north of Dublin city. It has a village centre surrounded by suburban housing estates, with a population of 18,608 as per the 2022 census.
Shane Peter Nathaniel Ross is an Irish former Independent politician who served as Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport from May 2016 to June 2020. He was a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Dublin Rathdown constituency from 2016 to 2020, and previously from 2011 to 2016 for the Dublin South constituency. He was a member of Seanad Éireann for the Dublin University from 1981 to 2011, until his election to Dáil Éireann at the 2011 general election.
Ashford Castle is a medieval and Victorian castle that has been expanded over the centuries and turned into a five star luxury hotel. It is near Cong on the County Mayo–Galway border, on the County Galway side of Lough Corrib, in Ireland. It is a member of the Red Carnation Hotels organisation and was previously owned by the Guinness family.
The Kildare Hotel and Golf Club is a golf and leisure complex located in Straffan, County Kildare, Ireland. It is built on the original grounds of the Straffan estate, incorporating the 1830s Straffan House, and was previously owned by Michael Smurfit.
The U2 Tower was a cancelled skyscraper which was proposed to be constructed in Dublin, Ireland. The site proposed was in the South Docklands (SODO) campshires, at the corner of Sir John Rogerson's Quay and Britain Quay, by the confluence of the River Liffey, the River Dodder, and the Grand Canal. The design announced on 12 October 2007 was by Foster and Partners. Reports suggested a building height of 120 metres, "well over 120 metres", and 180 metres, any of which would have made it the tallest building on the island of Ireland. The building was planned to be an apartment building, with a recording studio owned by the rock group U2 in a "pod" at the top. Construction was to begin in 2008 and end in 2011, at a cost of €200m. In October 2008, the project was cancelled because of the economic downturn at the time. Proposals to revive the plan were reported in July 2013. However, they did not come to fruition and the 79-metre, 22-storey Capital Dock development has since been built on the site.
Sir Michael Smurfit, KBE, is an English-born Irish businessman. In the "2010 Irish Independent Rich List" he was listed as 25th with a €368 million personal fortune.
Moore Street is a street in central Dublin, Ireland, off Henry Street, one of Ireland's main shopping streets. The famous Moore Street open-air fruit and vegetable market is Dublin's oldest food market. The market there is a famous landmark on the northside of the city.
Sporting Fingal Football Club was an Irish association football club based in Fingal. Between 2008 and 2010, the club played three seasons in the League of Ireland. During their first two seasons they played in the First Division before winning promotion to the Premier Division. During the 2009 and 2010 seasons, the club also entered a team in the A Championship. During their short stay in the League of Ireland, Sporting Fingal were relatively successful. As well as gaining promotion to the Premier Division, they also won both the 2009 FAI Cup and the 2010 A Championship Cup and qualified for the UEFA Europa League on two occasions. In addition to fielding teams in the League of Ireland, Sporting Fingal also organised Powerchair Football, Special Olympics football and futsal teams. Their futsal team won the 2010 FAI Futsal Cup and qualified for the 2010–11 UEFA Futsal Cup.
The economy of the Republic of Ireland is a highly developed knowledge economy, focused on services in high-tech, life sciences, financial services and agribusiness, including agrifood. Ireland is an open economy, and ranks first for high-value foreign direct investment (FDI) flows. In the global GDP per capita tables, Ireland ranks 2nd of 192 in the IMF table and 4th of 187 in the World Bank ranking.
Seán Dunne is an Irish businessman and property developer. He is sometimes referred to as "Baron of Ballsbridge" because of his ambitious development project for the Jury's/Berkeley Court hotels site in Ballsbridge. He left Dublin for the United States after the property collapse of 2007 to 2011. He was born in County Carlow, Ireland.
The National Asset Management Agency is a body created by the government of Ireland in late 2009 in response to the Irish financial crisis and the deflation of the Irish property bubble.
The Bord Gáis Energy Theatre is a performing arts venue, located in the Docklands of Dublin, Ireland. It is Ireland's largest fixed-seat theatre. It was designed by Daniel Libeskind for the DDDA, built by Joe O'Reilly, and opened by Harry Crosbie on 18 March 2010. It is owned by Bernie and John Gallagher, who bought the theatre in 2014 from NAMA, through their company, Crownway.
Derek M Quinlan is an Irish businessman prominent in the field of real estate investment and development. A former tax inspector at the Irish Revenue Commission, he formed investment syndicates with high-net-worth individuals to acquire investment properties across the world. His principal investment vehicle was Quinlan Private, a private equity firm with offices in Dublin, London and New York.
John Ronan is an Irish businessman and property developer known for establishing Treasury Holdings in 1989 along with Richard Barrett.
St. Aloysius College was a secondary school in Athlone, Westmeath, Ireland. It was primarily a school for boys, though its Leaving Certificate Repeat Programme was open to all students.
Ballymore Group is an Ireland-based international property development company. The majority of the company's employees and business activities are located in the UK.
Sean Mulryan is an Irish property developer, and the founder and chairman and CEO of the Ballymore Group, a Dublin-based international property development company. He was named on the Estates Gazette 2017 'Power List', which lists the 50 most powerful individuals in Britain's commercial real estate sector. Mulryan was the only Irish person to be named on the list, which included US billionaire and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and the chairman of CC Land, Cheung Chung-kiu.
Belcamp House is a Georgian house and former school, situated within a substantial estate off the Malahide Road in Balgriffin in the northern suburbs of Dublin, Ireland. The house was designed by the architect James Hoban, who also designed the White House in Washington, D.C., with a similar Oval Office utilising the bow back of the building.