Tributes pour in for fish magnate Pat Quinlan

Conception Bay North owes Pat Quinlan a large debt of gratitude, says Old Perlican mayor

Tributes to the late Pat Quinlan poured in after news of his death broke on Friday.

Quinlan was 88 years old. He co-founded Quinlan Brothers, one of the largest fish processors in the province, in 1954 with brother Maurice Quinlan, who passed away in 1973.

Old Perlican mayor Bruce Button says the entire Conception Bay North area owes a debt of gratitude to Pat Quinlan.

“This whole area is where it is today because of Pat Quinlan and Quinlan brothers. When everything else on the island, after the moratorium, was really going into a slide this whole area was booming and has been ever since,” said Button.

“That’s all due to the Quinlan Brothers and what they did here.”

Fisheries Minister Gerry Byrne says Quinlan was a model Newfoundlander the entire province will miss.

“Pat Quinlan’s extraordinary life is an outstanding example of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians time-tested ability to persevere, and prosper in the face of all obstacles and challenges,” said Byrne.

“While we mourn his passing, and express condolences, so too should we recognize Mr. Quinlan’s outstanding example and high standard of accomplishment that he has left behind, and his contribution to the fishing industry in Newfoundland and Labrador.”

Premier Dwight Ball extended his condolences to the Quinlan family, saying that Quinlan’s “passion and dedication to the fishery was admired by many.”

Quinlan Brothers has been one of the primary employers in the Old Perlican and Bay de Verde areas since the first plant was built.

The Bay de Verde plant employed 700 people before it burned to the ground in April 2016.

The company rebuilt the plant in the area, contracting Marco group to build the new, almost 7,000 square foot facility.

“If he told you something, he done it. He was a man you could depend on. He was the driving force in all of this,” said Button.

“His effect on everybody is felt over the whole area.”

Visitation begins today at Caul’s Funeral Home on Lemarchant Road in St. John’s, with another at Hopkins Funeral Home on Sunday in Old Perlican.

Burial arrangements have yet to be announced.

FILE PHOTO Then Bonavista-burin-trinity MP Judy Foote (from left), federal Fisheries Minister Dominc Leblanc and Quinlan Brothers president and co-founder Pat Quinlan are shown in a file photo. Quinlan died Friday. He was 88.