I will never forget that titan of a man ...his charisma and generosity of spirit

Tribute to leading Irish entrepreneur and rugby legend Sir Tony O’reilly

SIR Anthony O’reilly was a titanic figure who I first got to know nearly half a century ago.

It was in the late seventies when I asked him for an interview for a series about The Millionaires for the Belfast Telegraph.

He was not so well-known then in Northern Ireland as a leading business entrepreneur, although he had made his name earlier as an outstanding rugby player for the British and Irish Lions, and for the Irish team itself.

He was keen to be better known in Northern Ireland and was delighted to be offered a fullpage interview in the Belfast Telegraph, a title he later purchased as part of the Independent Newspaper group.

Our interview went well, and I discovered first-hand his enormous charisma and humour as well as his grasp of world affairs, and also his business steel behind the smile.

We stayed in touch and in 1980 he agreed to talk to me for a 50-minute profile, with his favourite music, for my BBC Radio Ulster series of interviews. This was recorded near his home in Kildare, and he was eloquent, witty and reflective.

Sometime later Sir Anthony agreed to be interviewed at length for a book I was writing about the bridge-builders in Ireland, and particularly about his establishment of the Ireland Funds among Irish-americans which raised around $100m dollars for peace projects in Ireland’s north and south.

He invited me to dinner at Castlemartin, his impressive Georgian mansion in Kildare, with the intention of talking to me afterwards about the book.

However, when I arrived I discovered that he had also invited a large number of executives from Heinz UK, of which he was managing director, and also CEO of the parent company in the USA.

At the dinner, I was seated beside his first wife Susan, whom he had met during his first British and Irish Lions tour to Australia. On my left was an American lady who was wearing a gorgeous diamond bracelet. I was told later that she had apparently sold Weightwatchers to O’reilly for the Heinz company.

I tried to bring Sir Anthony aside for the interview for my book, but he continually disappeared with individual Heinz executives to talk about business.

Eventually, at about 11.30pm, he appeared in the drawing room with everyone present, and he put on my recording of our interview for BBC Radio Ulster. The room became silent as all his colleagues listened intently.

At one point in the evening, Sir Anthony confessed that he travelled far too much, and probably more than he needed. I noticed that his wife nodded knowingly, as if to say “that doesn’t surprise me”.

At about 12.30am, I was able to interview Tony O’reilly in an alcove in his mansion, though Susan said to him: “You really need some sleep after such a long day.”

He and I talked for an hour, and he was hugely insightful about the need for reconciliation and for a new order in Ireland. He was bitterly opposed to violence from any quarter, and he was particularly hostile to the Provisional IRA. It was one of the best interviews in which I was ever privileged to be involved.

The next morning I left Castlemartin early, and Sir Anthony was already engaged in business meetings. A few days later I began to transcribe our interview for the book, and to my amazement

‘He was insightful about the need for reconciliation and a new order in Ireland’

I did not need to change a word.

Sir Anthony was one of only two people I have ever interviewed who spoke in a literary style as if the words had already been written.

The other person with that same rare and precious quality was Terry Waite, the former envoy of Archbishop Robert Runcie who spent terrible years in prison in Lebanon.

We stayed in touch. I met him when I was information director at Queen’s University which gave him an honorary degree.

Then, for one last time at a rugby dinner. Out of the blue, I had a call from Sir Anthony to be a guest at the centenary dinner of Ballymena Rugby Club, where he was the main speaker.

I arrived there in my dress suit, but couldn’t find my name on the list. So I asked for help from Syd Millar, the famous Ballymena, Lions and Ireland player, who told me “O’reilly has put you at the top table”.

So there I was at the top table sitting along with a clutch of rugby legends, including Willie John Mcbride, Cliff Morgan, Cecil Pedlow, and Sir Anthony himself who gave a typically outstanding speech, and wearing a Pedlow dress suit which was too tight for him.

Afterwards, the large audience queued up for the Lions’ autographs, and when one young man asked me to sign his empty notebook I said apologetically: “Sorry I am not a Lion.” He hesitated and then said: “Just sign anyway, that will start me off.”

Sadly Anthony Joseph Francis O’reilly has now gone, but I will never forget that titan of a man and his charisma, kindness and generosity of spirit.