Post by Papa C. on Jul 4, 2007 14:54:11 GMT
Here's where all your hard earned cash is going to pay for. The bank managers who rob €395,000 in interest from you on top of the price of your house as you pay your mortgage, the insurance companies that force you to pay insurance even though you can't claim or your premiums will rise. You can't change insurance companies because they are all in the little club and they are all in a cartel. Here's where the leaches live...
The rich club: A who's who of Irish multi-millionaires
Sunday, December 05, 2004 - By Simon Carswell and Ian Kehoe
Never before has there been such a concentration of Irish multi-millionaires snapping up properties in a single location.
The K Club in Straffan, Co Kildare, has been a mecca for Ireland's super-rich, who have bought properties around one of the country's top golf clubs over the last nine years. A second course has been added to keep the property owners happy.
You may not see cardboard tycoon Michael Smurfit nipping over to property developer Sean Mulryan's pad for a cup of sugar, but you will see the pair out on the golf course next to their holiday homes.
They also have the option of sipping fine wines in the adjacent five-star hotel.
The fact that the K Club is hosting the Ryder Cup in September 2006 is an added bonus for the multimillionaires who have bought properties on the 550-acre estate. With tens of millions of viewers expected to watch Europe take on the US, the K Club will become even more exclusive.
A simple Land Registry search, which reveals the names of the owners of the properties at the K Club, is a fascinating exercise. The list of owners reads like a who's who of all areas of corporate Ireland.
There are big-name property developers, including Seamus Ross, Gerry Gannon and Sean Mulryan. There is the traditional representation from the horsey set, including John Magnier, Vincent O'Brien, Clem Murphy and Pat Keogh, all with connections to Magnier's Tipperary bloodstock corporation, Coolmore.
There are those with connections, past and present, to the retail game. Tom Coughlan of Wal-Mart and Ben Dunne, once of Dunnes Stores, both own properties at the club, as does Paddy McKillen, owner of the Jervis Street shopping centre. Ronnie Delaney and Liam Cunningham, who are McKillen's partners in Champion Sports, Captain America and other ventures, also own a property. Then there are those who helped others buy properties and who have themselves decided to buy.
They include Dublin solicitor Frank Ward and auctioneer Arthur French, who has raised money for Fine Gael and Mary McAleese. “There is only one K Club and it is a blue chip investment. Everyone wants to be here,” said French, who is the sole agent for houses on the course.
He said houses were selling for between €1 million and €3 million, depending on the size.
Despite the price, demand is outstripping supply, according to French.
“The market is absolutely great. You could say the who's who of Ireland are buying here. We have millionaires and billionaires alike. People who have made lots of money are looking to buy here.”
The Leixlip auctioneer is involved in a joint venture with Ross's Menolly Homes to build a new scheme of houses called Ladycastle beside the south course at the K Club. The Ryder Cup Village, the Courtyard and Churchfields are the other three main developments on the resort.
French said a scheme of 83 houses on the new course was launched in September, and more than half had already been sold. The newcomers will be joining the likes of Finn O'Sullivan, who became a millionaire many times over when he sold his logistics business, Irish Express Cargo, four years ago.
O'Sullivan's former business partner, Gerry Tyrrell, also owns property at the K Club, as do many individuals with links to the banks. Paddy Wright, chairman of RTE and a director of Anglo Irish Bank, owns a property at the Kildare resort, and Citibank Ireland chief executive Aidan Brady is also in there.
There are also those who are not well known to the wider Irish business world, such as Charles and Phyllis Kelly who own an arts supplies business not far from the K Club. Joseph Kelly of Dalkey, Co Dublin, who is involved in construction, also owns a property.
Many of these properties in the Courtyard or its extension, the Ryder Cup Village. Properties have been selling from about £300,000 in 1999 to well over €1 million in more recent times.
Even former US president Bill Clinton was rumoured to have bought a €1.2 million duplex at the club. The rumour was quickly denied, but not before it was established that Clinton had played the course.
The K Club was the brainchild of Michael Smurfit and includes a spa and the 7,288-yard championship north course, where the Smurfit European Open has been played.
Smurfit, who bought Straffan House, the club's historic centre, owns a number of properties at the resort.
One multimillionaire who owns a property at the K Club said his apartment was an investment, as well as a place to stay after a round of golf, dinner and a few drinks. “Many of us who bought down there did so as an investment,” he said.
“Down the line, the Ryder Cup will give the resort and the properties a lot of exposure.’' Another property owner said Smurfit asked him whether he wanted to buy a property. He agreed to do so by buying an apartment with one of his professional associates.
“A lot of main players bought property when the K Club was just starting off,” said French. “A lot more bought houses when they became available and there are a lot of people who still want to buy. All the main names are here. If they are not, the chances are they will be here shortly.”
Owners of properties at the K Club
Michael Smurfit, cardboard multimillionaire and founder of the K Club
John Magnier, Tipperary bloodstock tycoon, Manchester United shareholder
Vincent O'Brien, horse trainer
Ben Dunne, gym owner and former supermarket tycoon
Tom Coughlan, chief executive and chairman of Wal-Mart
Sean Mulryan, property developer (Ballymore Properties)
Patrick Kelly, property developer (Kelland Homes)
Seamus Ross, property developer (Menolly Homes)
Gerry Gannon, Dublin-based house-builder
Moira McGann, wife of Gary McGann, Jefferson Smurfit chief executive
Paddy Wright, chairman of RTE and director of Anglo Irish Bank
John P Kennedy, Dublin property developer (Herbert Park Hotel)
Arthur French, Leixlip auctioneer, property investor and K Club sales agent
Frank Ward, Dublin solicitor
Johnny Fortune, Former chief financial officer of tech firm SmartForce
Aidan Brady, Chief executive of Citibank in Dublin
Martin Flattery, Leixlip builder
Tommy Gallagher, property developer
Robert Sinclair, Belfast solicitor and racehorse owner
Liam Mulryan, Galway auctioneer and property developer
Paddy McKillen, property developer; owner, Jervis St shopping centre
Ronnie Delaney, business partner of McKillen
Liam Cunningham, owner of Captain America's and Champion Sports
Finn O'Sullivan, former haulage and logistics company boss
Gerard Tyrrell, former haulage and logistics company shareholder
David Coyle, Dublin accountant and company doctor
Clem Murphy, Pat Keogh, Michael Ryan; executives at Coolmore, John Magnier's stud
Charles and Phyllis Kelly, bookshop and arts supplies shop owners
Stephen Fitzgerald, businessman from Howth, Co Dublin
Michael and Pamela Furlong, owners of GTI Environmental in Ashbourne, Co Meath
Martin Doherty, director of Brownsbarn Orchard Management
The above names appeared on a Land Registry search on November 30, 2004.
