Feargal was ‘the most magical of grandfathers’
Family and friends’ tributes at funeral of retail giant and senator
‘LIFE was never boring with Dad,’ Eamon Quinn told friends and family who had gathered to pay tribute to his father, the late retail giant and senator, Feargal Quinn.
He was ‘truly exceptional, and an inspiration to all’, the congregation was told at the businessman’s funeral Mass yesterday.
Mr Quinn’s granddaughter Alexandra de Schonen described her grandfather as ‘magical’ in her address to mourners.
‘He was the most magical of grandfathers. He had the ability to transform a garden or beach for all of his grandchildren into a mostenchanted place because he knew the Sweet Fairy.
‘I had always believed he had very long discussions with the Sweet Fairy because he always knew where the sweets were hidden,’ she said. ‘He made me believe politics was the friendliest place to work, where collaboration and friendship always surpassed rivalry and competition.
‘We knew our grandfather was a genius who had come up with the most ingenious idea of playhouses for kids in supermarkets. I still believe today that his genius relied on the fact that he kept his childhood spirit and managed to share this simplicity and joy with everyone around him,’ she added.
Mourners gathered at St Fintan’s Church, Sutton, north Co. Dublin, to pay tribute to Mr Quinn, 82, whom parish priest Fr Liam Lacey described as being established in the consciousness of the Irish people through his extraordinary business career and his public service.
Mr Quinn first came to prominence through his successful supermarket chain Superquinn, which he would grow from a single store in Dundalk in 1960 to 21 stores in 2005 when he sold it to a consortium. He spent more than two decades as a senator and also had success in the world of television through RTÉ’s Feargal Quinn’s Retail Therapy. He also served as chairman of An Post until 1989. Fr Lacy said Mr Quinn was a man held in ‘great affection’, and it was ‘hard to find anybody who has a bad word to say about him’. A former Superquinn employee, Fr Brian McKittrick from Celbridge parish, assisted in the celebrating of the Mass. Vincent O’Doherty, chairman of the former Superquinn group for more than 30 years, said Mr Quinn
‘His genius was that he kept his childhood spirit’ ‘He had an outstanding contact with staff’
had an ‘outstanding personal contact with all the staff in his group’ and that ‘it was extraordinary that he remembered their first names and the names of their spouses in many cases’. He said Mr Quinn ‘had a magic authenticity’, and ‘gave many young people trust and responsibilities’.
Mr Quinn is survived by his wife Denise, daughters Gilliane and Zoë, sons Eamon, Stephen and Donal, sister Eilagh and 19 grandchildren. Among those in attendance yesterday were President Michael D Higgins, Minister for Children and Youth Affairs Katherine Zappone, businessman Sean Gallagher and Senator Michael McDowell.