Warm tributes paid to Sligo-born Revive Active founder Daithí O’Connor
SUPPLEMENT giant, Daithí O’Connor, passed away last Sunday (December 3) following illness, aged 62.
His passing was described as peaceful and faced up to with “great dignity and courage” by Daithí who had wife Hilary and children Sorcha, Dioraí and Rory by his side. The Sligo-born businessman set up Revive Active in 2011 which has grown from its Galway base to become one of the world leaders in supplements.
Tina Duane of Revive Active paid tribute to Daithi saying: “Deepest and heartfelt sympathy to Hilary, Sorcha, Dioraí and Rory on the heartbreaking passing of Daithí.
“It was a pleasure and an honour to have known him and worked for him. His legacy will live on and he will never be forgotten. Rest in peace, Daithí.”
Also paying tribute were Co. Sligo Golf Club who said: “To Hilary and all the O’Connor Family our sincere condolences to you on the passing of Daithí.
“He had some great friends at County Sligo Golf Club and he will be sadly missed. May he rest in peace.”
Mary McLaughlin from the Sligo Stoma Support Group added: “He was an amazing man. He supported our group with sponsorship and lovely Revive Active hampers for our raffles.
“In the last two years, I got to know Daithí through his illness. He had hoped to come to Sligo for one of our meetings but it wasn’t to be. Rest in peace Daithí.”
Daithí grew up in Sligo before being sent to boarding school in Galway.
He had already begun a career in the financial sector before getting his Leaving Certificate results and would go on to create his own company, DC Atlantic Investments, which was a financial advisory firm in Galway – something he wished he’d done much earlier.
Speaking in October 2021, he said: “A big regret is that I didn't go into business on my own sooner. I loved the fact that I was working for myself.
“Every ounce of energy that I put into it was coming back to me. I had huge contacts in Galway and in Ireland.”
Following the financial crash of 2008, O’Connor closed his business and was considering his next career move when a meeting with a group of doctors led to the birth of Revive Active.
Of that time, Daithí said two years ago: “I was asked by a group of doctors if I could come to a meeting with a PhD in molecular medicine, a PhD in sports nutrition and a nutritional therapist. They wanted to import supplements from the US. It wasn’t an area I was hugely familiar with, but I listened and then I started to research it.
“I looked at what was on the market, the best sellers, and where they came from. And then I did some secret shopper trips to health food stores.
“I told them we should go ahead and make our own product, create our own brand, make our own supplements, set up our own company, put equity in. ‘If you want me, I'll be the managing director and head of strategy.
“That’s the deal,’ I said. They went for the deal. That's how it went.” In a separate interview, O’Connor spoke of the rise and success of Revive Active.
He said: “The first product we brought to market was Revive Active, which was formulated to support the immune system, heart health and energy levels. This combination of benefits in one supplement was unique at the time as the market was not as sophisticated as it is now.
“Most Vitamin, Mineral and Dietary Supplement (VMS) sections in stores sold bottles of single vitamin tablets, containing fillers and binders which people often find difficult to swallow. Whereas here was an Irish supplement brand that had 26 active ingredients in one daily sachet that consumers simply mix with water and drink.
“Ten years on, I’m proud to say that we now have eight scientifically formulated products on the market that are manufactured in our own state-of-the-art facility in Mullingar.”
Daithí is survived by wife Hilary and children Sorcha, Dioraí and Rory; brothers Donald, Conor, Michael, Geoffrey and Gerald and father-in-law Gerry Molloy.
His funeral is this morning (Thursday, December 7) at the Church of Christ the King, Salthill in advance of Requiem Mass at 11 am Following Mass he will be laid to rest close to his home in Rahoon cemetery.
Live Streaming link for Mass (This is not a recording) www.mcnmedia.tv/Camera/ christ-the-king-church-salthill.