Michael O’Leary
by planetparker
What I think of Mary Coughlan
It is an open secret that Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary is viewed with scorn by Fianna Fail. Remember Bathgate involving former minister Mary O’Rourke? It is obvious that he must have trod on some Fianna Fail toes, but it is far more likely that the disdain stems from senior officials in the government, the eminences greases [sic] who control politicians like marionettes by a puppet master.
I cannot say what has happened. Maybe Michael O’Leary’s no-nonsense approach to business has irked some people. The fact that he was, I believe, educated by the Jesuits may not have won him universal acclaim in the obscurantist corridors of power; we all know the degree of hatred which exists in some areas of the Catholic Church towards the Society of Jesus.
One thing we can be certain of. The hostility towards Michael O’Leary does not stem from some cabinet minister or senior mandarin having an unfortunate ex
One thing we can be certain of. The hostility towards Michael O’Leary does not stem from some cabinet minister or senior mandarin having an unfortunate experience on a Ryanair flight. Fie for shame! Ryanair is only for poor people.
Now there are some areas of Ryanair’s modus operandi that I might be less than happy with, but no one can doubt that Michael O’Leary has shaken up the airline industry, making air travel affordable to huge swathes of people for whom a trip in a ‘plane was previously a once-in-a-blue-moon luxury. One other thing cannot be denied about Michael O’Leary. He is a resident of the state, and pays his taxes here. He’s not an honorary consul for some taxation Elysium.
His treatment at the hands of the department of Trade etc. is unacceptable. A cow-boy property developer from rural Ireland (who contributed to party coffers) would have been treated more seriously. But maybe that’s just it. Michael O’Leary hasn’t been paying off senior officials and politicians. It would be in keeping with Michael O’Leary’s personality to believe that the business acumen of his proposals should sell themselves.
