Cooper - The Maximalist: The Rise and Fall of Tony OReilly

EPILOGUE

THE LIFE OF A MAXIMALIST

I t was a function of his age, as he neared his eightieth year, that OReilly was becoming used to infirmity and death among his closest friends and associates. Some had died many years earlier, such as John Meagher and Andy Mulligan within a month of each other in 2001, Vincent Ferguson in 2005; others had passed more recently, such as Karl Mullen in 2009 and Cliff Morgan in 2013. Two of his most important editors had died: Vinnie Doyle in 2010, five years after his retirement; and Aengus Fanning in early 2012. It was noted that OReilly did not appear at the latter funeral, nor at that of Billy Vincent, also in 2012, who had soldiered for so long with him at the Ireland Funds. Nelson Mandela died in 2013 and Ben Bradlee in late 2014, prompting OReilly to pen a beautiful tribute to the former that The Independent in London published, and to write to The Irish Times citing his admiration for the integrity of the legendary ex-Washington Post editor. Louise OConnor, mother of his godson, Cian, died in late 2014. Don Keough, the ex-Coca-Cola boss who had joined him on the board of The Washington Post, died in early 2015, as did Jack Kyle, one of his great rugby friends.

Liam Healy endured years of serious ill-health. Jim McCarthy, his most trusted presence, was 90 years old and in declining health by the time Castlemartin was put up for sale by AIB; his family kept news of it and of OReillys other financial troubles from him. McCarthy died in April 2015. OReilly did not attend the funeral, three of his children doing so in his stead. His inability to travel because of his health problems was noted and readily understood by McCarthys son, James, in the oration from the altar, in which he spoke with great affection of the close friendship his father and OReilly had enjoyed.

Susan, his first wife, passed away in November 2014, from terminal cancer. She had entered her eighties. Her children and grandchildren all spent considerable time with her during her final illness and the children became closer to each other than perhaps they had ever been as adults. All had loved her greatly but also greatly admired her stoicism, her grace, her humour and her loyalty. As they had always said, she was the glue that kept the family together. Together the family enjoyed the memories provoked by an RT documentary about OReillys life that was screened in October, just weeks before she died, her children joking about the footage in which Tony jnr and two of his sisters were seen running around in the snow, wearing short pants in his case and short skirts in theirs. Did you not have better clothes to put us in, suitable for the weather? they teased.

Susans death brought about a thaw in OReillys frosty relations with Gavin. The father had partially blamed his son for the loss of control of INM to OBrien, for not consulting him as much as he would have liked after taking up the role of CEO, and then for stepping away from the company without telling him. When Gavin remarried in London in December 2012, at his mothers house, his father was not present. He had been invited but did not reply personally to Gavin, instead sending a note of apology to Gavins new wife, Christina Grimm. In late 2014 he accepted an invitation to Camerons fiftieth birthday party, a small affair that was to be held in the House of Commons; its possible to hire rooms in the British houses of parliament for such occasions. However, hours before the party was due to start he sent a message to say that he was suffering from an extreme toothache and would not be able to attend. His family were disappointed because they all still love their father and want him to remain an active part of their lives, but they were not surprised.

A memorial service in Susans honour was held in April 2015 in London, before her ashes were brought to France to be interred in the grounds of Camerons house, a place that she had come to love dearly. OReilly was invited to the service but could not attend, again because of his inability to travel due to the required recovery from his back surgery. Instead, he wrote a tribute to Susan that was read to the audience. All of Susans grandchildren read, in turn, a couple of lines from a poem. Susie had produced a display of family pictures, having gone through an archive of over 9,000 photographs. The family was appreciative of the many people who attended the service, particularly old colleagues of the OReillys from their time in Pittsburgh who arrived at the service unexpectedly.

Susan was not the only key figure in OReillys life to die in 2014. His friend, his cousin Fr John Geary, the intermediary who had set up OReillys meeting with his parents in 1973 to finally broach the subject of his illegitimacy, the bridge-builder between OReillys father and his estranged family, the member of OReillys fathers family to whom he had been the closest by far, also succumbed to cancer, on 31 December, aged 83. As head of the Spiritan Order in Canada, Geary had been close to Susan, calling her one of the great women of my life, and he had driven from Toronto to Pittsburgh each Easter and Thanksgiving to spend time with the family, discussing theology, philosophy and family with OReilly into the small hours of each morning. He had been a regular at Castlemartin each Christmas, too. An acclaimed academic as well as teacher, Geary had returned to Canada in the years before his death and had not seen OReilly as regularly, removing a wise and trusted presence from his cousins life. He was someone who almost certainly would have told OReilly not to distance himself from his children, not to make similar mistakes to those that Jack had made with the four children of his first union. His children did not want there to be a distance. I suspect he feels embarrassed, that he was up on a pedestal for us and that he had fallen from it, but thats not the way we feel about him at all. We know what happened to him and how, and that doesnt change that he is our father and that we do love him, said one.

His family had become part of the diaspora he had once tapped to boost the Ireland Funds. Gavin moved to Los Angeles in early 2015, in his new role as chairman of a major artists representative agency, The Agency. Susie also lived there. Tony jnr was now settled in Malta with Michelle, his second wife, and his children and hers from their respective first marriages. Cameron was in France, Justine in Australia and Caroline was considering her future in Ireland now that her children were reaching adulthood and showed an interest in utilising their rights to Australian citizenship. It looks like there will be no OReilly dynasty in Ireland. His three sons had reason to wonder how their business relationships with their father had impacted on their personal relationships: he had been less forgiving of their perceived weakness or failures when issues arose that displeased him than he might have been of non-family executives. The daughters were not really considered for inclusion in business matters, but may in fact have benefited from that exclusion.

OReilly returned to Castlemartin for the very last time shortly before Christmas 2014. He and Chryss had to arrange for the boxing and taking of their personal possessions, many of which had remained on display during the sale process: some would be taken to the small Kildare home that remained available to them, others would be transported to France. OReilly was in physical pain from his constant back problems, but this leave-taking was an entirely different type of pain. This was his domain, his greatest pride, a physical definition of his success, the place where he had expected to die and be buried, alongside his beloved parents. The Latin inscription over the teal blue front door, which translated as the forgetfulness of a busy life is very agreeable, screamed at him now that he had so little to do other than deal with banks and lawyers about his debts. The blow of losing Castlemartin was almost as bad to Chryss as it was to him: she had rarely been happier than when she was working there with her horses and their staff. It had truly become her home, too. They met with the staff that day, many of whom had served OReilly for decades and whose affection and respect for each other was mutual. It was, understandably, a deeply emotional occasion.