A HIGH-FLYING STAR – BOTH ON THE PITCH AND OFF IT
BRENDAN Mullin is known as one of the best rugby players Ireland has ever produced.
In 1991, he made history by finally breaking the international try-scoring record for Ireland, bagging 17 in total.
His record was beaten but he remained Ireland’s top-scoring centre until the arrival of Brian O’Driscoll. And on top of all this, he maintained an international athletics career, representing Ireland in hurdled sprints.
Brendan Mullin was born in Jerusalem on October 30, 1963. His path into rugby and finance – an upper middle class south Dublin background and all the right rugby schools – was typical for his generation.
He was educated at Blackrock College in Dublin and studied law at Trinity College Dublin before going to Oxford. He first lined out for Ireland in 1984.
He gained 55 caps for Ireland between 1984 and 1995, during which he scored his recordbreaking 17 tries.
In all, Mr Mullin played at three Rugby World Cup finals, in 1987, 1991 and 1995, and in nine Five Nations championships, from 1985 to 1995.
On top of his rugby prowess Brendan Mullin was also an international 110 metre hurdler, with a personal best of just over 14 seconds.
While his rugby career blossomed, the 25-year-old Mullin took a job with Davy Stockbrokers in 1989. He specialised in building relationships with private, high-rolling clients.
After seven years with Davy, he joined Goodbody Stockbrokers in 1996 in its corporate development business.
He joined Dublin-based investment advisory group Quinlan Private in 2003 following its acquisition of Powerscourt Capital Partners, an investment firm that Mr Mullin had set up some years earlier.
In 2007, Mr Mullin quit Quinlan Private to set up his own firm, focused on public and private equity in Ireland and the UK. In 2008, he invested in Airone, which aimed to be a low-cost airline in the Caribbean. The project foundered when the Jamaican government refused a licence. Mr Mullin and investors were reimbursed.
In 2010, in the midst of the financial crash, he was appointed Bank of Ireland’s head of private banking.