Bankrupt billionaire Sean Quinn broke down in tears at the latest rally in support of his family, just days before he faces a High Court appearance.
An emotional Quinn heard speakers support his battle with the banks at the meeting which was attended by 5,000 supporters in the Cavan town of Ballyconnell.
Once Ireland’s richest man, Quinn faces the threat of jail when he appears before Dublin’s High Court for a contempt hearing on Friday.
Quinn and his wife Patricia broke down in tears when local priest Fr Gerry Comiskey said prayers for their son Sean Jnr, already in Mountjoy jail on similar charges.
Fr Comiskey also read a poem for Sean Jr while Tyrone GAA boss Mickey Harte told the crowd he is steadfast in his support for the Quinn family.
They also heard their daughter Ciara and Sean’s brother Peter, the former GAA president, vow to win the ‘war’ with the former Anglo Irish Bank.
Peter Quinn told the big crowd: “Neither Anglo nor the media will break the Quinn resolve, neither Elderfield or Dukes, nor Kenny or Noonan or any of the other b******s in Dáil Éireann, or ever break the Quinns’ spirit.”
Ciara Quinn told supporters: “The Quinn family will rise again, continue to fight and not go quietly into the night.
“My name is Ciara Quinn and I, alongside my bother Seán and my three sisters, Colette, Aoife and Brenda, are the true and rightful owners of the Quinn group of companies.
“In 2007 and 2008 Anglo Irish Bank pumped €2.3 billion into our companies without asking us, without telling us and without ever even meeting us – this was illegal.
Read more stories on Sean Quinn here.
“We are innocent parties to this and “we will not be Anglo’s scapegoats.
“We built over 200 companies and we employed tens of thousands of people I would like to thank everyone for that.”
Ciara Quinn added: “I would like to say to everyone here no member of my family touched any asset that Anglo had legitimate borrowing or security on.
“The assets you are all reading about in the papers are assets that Anglo never lent any money to, which they have no valid security on.
“We will prove this in our main case and we say that Anglo will have to explain to you, the Irish taxpayers, why they spent tens of millions chasing assets that they had no legitimate claim to.
“We were a very private, hard-working family who never courted media attention and our lives have been torn apart, as has our life’s work, and lies have been written about us continuously, selective leaking of information by the bank to the media.
“Anglo is spending millions of taxpayers’ money on a vicious PR campaign against us and as we all know a paper never refuses ink.”
Ciara’s sister Colette Quinn told The Irish Times: “We’re very happy with the turn out and we’re delighted at the support we continue to get from the area and we really appreciate it.”
8 Comments
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Switch to the desktop site to post a comment.IrelandNorth | Oct 17, 2012, 08:19 AM EDT
Dail Eireann is not the national parliament, though it may be a notional one. Previous financial regulators didn't regulating the Irish private banking sector, a key part of the state's financial ruination once again. Sean Quinn is a self-made man, who earned his money by the sweat of his brow, unlike some silver spooners who sit in judgement of him. His companies created employment in his native County Fermanagh and neighbouring Co Cavan, straddling an artificial provincial and national divide. His only failing may have been his naivete about credit pushing banksters.
marsman | Oct 15, 2012, 09:44 PM EDT
Ireland is supposedly different from other countries. For instance, Sean Quinn openly admitted and defended the spiriting away of money from the creditors on TV. In most other European countries such an open admission on TV would have resulted in his instant arrest. Prosecutors would have been required by law - upon learning - to act automatically and issue an arrest warrant. Bankruptcy fraud is taken very serious in most other countries. If say a politician would be involved in such a fraud, it would be the sudden end of such a politician. No way that he could wield political power and influence. Very interesting, really remarkable, is the fact that a levy of 2% is put on all insurances in order to compensate for the depleted insurance fund of the former Quinn insurances. This levy will have to paid for years to come. Yet the media like to fool and drag around with Quinn, never minding this costly issue. People are supposed to have costly "entertainment" and just cough up the money in a state of total amnesia.
Bocktherobber | Oct 15, 2012, 06:05 PM EDT
Everyone's out to get them : the bank they owe the money to, even the financial regulator and even the national parliament. Forget what they owe. Ciara, Seán, Colette, Aoife and Brenda are the true and rightful owners in the Quinn parallel universe.
Gordan Duggan | Oct 15, 2012, 04:50 PM EDT
Unfortunately, Justice Elizabeth Dunne will break the Quinns' spirit on Friday next when she sentences Sean Snr. to join his son in Mountjoy Jail in Dublin.
Happyhippo | Oct 15, 2012, 01:26 PM EDT
I really don't accept all this,i'm totally innocent stuff from the Quinn's,its stretching the imagination to have us believe that Anglo would pump millions into any company but don't even bother to lift the phone to tell the owners,they have been found by the High Court to have transferred 500 million of assets outside the jurisdiction of the state illegally,its laudable their supporters turn out in support but they are the ones depending on the Quinns for employment,the rest of us can make a more rational judgement
nicgearailt | Oct 15, 2012, 12:36 PM EDT
were they crocodile tears??
cillowen | Oct 15, 2012, 10:46 AM EDT
boohooing bast....
seamus60 | Oct 15, 2012, 09:03 AM EDT
Great to see a good turn out in support of the quinn family. Best of luck to them in their ongoing battle.