Lavish wedding for NAMA debtor's daughter

EGAR

Lavish castle wedding for Nama debtor's daughter


By RONALD QUINLAN
Sunday September 11 2011
He might owe Nama €1bn but that didn't stop developer Gerry Gannon throwing a lavish wedding reception for his daughter at the millionaires' playground Dromoland Castle yesterday.

Wearing his trademark Fedora hat, the low-profile developer gave away his daughter Amy to Declan Rice of Portmarnock, Co Dublin, in the picturesque setting of St Mary's Church in Quin, Co Clare.

The last time the public was given a glimpse into Mr Gannon's luxurious lifestyle, he had been playing the role of dutiful husband, sweating profusely as he lugged his wife Margaret's Brown Thomas shopping bags to his Range Rover in an RTE Prime Time special that exposed the still-blinging lifestyles of Nama's most indebted developers.

Yesterday, however, the 'man in the hat' was playing another and undoubtedly far more important role.

Arriving with her father just 20 minutes beyond the appointed starting time of 2pm, the bride looked resplendent as she stepped out from her chauffeur-driven Daimler limousine in an ivory wedding gown with the careful assistance of her four bridesmaids, all of whom wore burgundy dresses with an ivory sash to complement her gown. A beaming Mr Gannon was attired in a traditional morning suit, topped off with his beloved fedora.

The mass, celebrated by Fr Tom Colreavy, was traditional in tone and content and accompanied by the music of Handel played by the Dolmen String Quartet.

And while there was little outward evidence of Celtic Tiger conspicuous consumption beyond the BMWs, Mercedes and Range Rovers parked on the streets of the village outside the church door, the bride still managed to offer the 200-strong wedding attendees a telling insight into what she wanted for her big day.

In a note embossed on the cover of the Order of Service, she said: "I dream of a wedding of elaborate elegance . . . a church filled with flowers and friends . . . I asked him what kind of wedding he wished for . . . He said one that would make me his wife."

But whatever the bride and groom had dreamt of for their big day, those dreams came perilously close to being scuppered by the actions of a few young men at the wedding who attempted to prevent press photographers from taking photographs of the happy couple outside the church after the ceremony.

Thankfully their actions -- which it should be noted were not called for by anyone related to the bride or groom -- didn't go on to mar the reception that was held afterwards at the sumptuously appointed five-star Dromoland Castle.

Dromoland -- which only recently earned the distinction of being voted one of the world's best hotels and resorts by the discerning readers of Conde Nast Traveller magazine -- had left nothing to chance yesterday in its preparations for the Gannon family's big day.

Indeed, from early morning, the hotel's wedding team were to be seen hard at work preparing the tables in the Brian Boru banqueting hall. By the time the wedding party arrived in the late afternoon, the hall had been transformed with crisp white table linen, gleaming silver cutlery and dazzling crystal stemware the order of the day.

All talk of the recession was left outside the wrought iron gates of Dromoland, a venue which famously played host to former President George W Bush during Ireland's EU presidency in 2004.

And it's probably safe to say that there was little mention of Nama amongst the wedding guests, and if there was, it certainly didn't arise anywhere within earshot of Gerry Gannon, a man whom Nama chiefs Brendan McDonagh and Frank Daly will have been keeping a particularly close eye on ever since it was revealed how he transferred more than two dozen properties into his wife Margaret's name since the bad bank's establishment.

For the meal itself, starters consisted of a choice of Shallot and Garlic Tart or Doolin Crab with Mozzarella Roulade, followed by Champagne Sorbet.

The main course consisted of a choice of Grilled Fillet of Irish Beef with Braised Red Cabbage and Green Peppercorn Sauce or Grilled Fillet of Sole with a Parsley Crust, Tomato, Lettuce and Sugar Pea Fondue.

The dessert was bland enough to please even a builder's palette with a Warm Apple Crumble served with Brown Soda Bread Ice Cream or a Seasonal Fruit Gratin with Toasted Coconut Ice Cream on offer.

For those guests, like fellow developer Mick Bailey, still peckish after that, the ever attendant waiters and waitresses were on hand with petit fours to accompany bottomless pots of tea and coffee.

The champagne flowed freely all through the afternoon and evening. He may be one of Nama's top 10 developers, but for Gerry Gannon, it would seem his cup still runneth over.

- RONALD QUINLAN

http://www.independent.ie/national-news/lavish-castle-wedding-for-nama-debtors-daughter-2873149.html

super_furry

I hope the hotel insisted on cash up front.

starbelgrade

Whatever about owing money to NAMA, whatever about throwing lavish parties when you're in debt, anyone who wears a Fedora hat on a daily basis is a fucking twat in my opinion.

syklops

starbelgrade wrote: »

Whatever about owing money to NAMA, whatever about throwing lavish parties when you're in debt, anyone who wears a Fedora hat on a daily basis is a fucking twat in my opinion.

So you think Indiana Jones is a twat? :eek:

OldGoat

starbelgrade wrote: »

anyone who wears a Fedora hat on a daily basis is a fucking twat in my opinion.

FatherLen

syklops wrote: »

So you think Indiana Jones is a twat? :eek:

in his last movie, yes.

orourkeda

The bride would get it.

Liam Byrne

Does the paper have any proof that he paid for the wedding......could she have possibly paid for it herself ?

If she did, then it's her own affair.

If he paid for it, then it's sickening.

Logical Fallacy

syklops wrote: »

So you think Indiana Jones is a twat? :eek:

A rapey twat at that.

ejmaztec

orourkeda wrote: »

The bride would get it.

Some cake?

c_man

syklops wrote: »

So you think Indiana Jones is a twat? :eek:

He didn't wear it daily though.

pajunior

orourkeda wrote: »

The bride would get it.

-_- Not sure if serious???

Newaglish

The family has obviously paid for that article to be written. It's filled with all the gushing elaborate descriptions and over-usage of adjectives that we've come to know and love from property "articles" over the years.

I can't believe anyone reads this rubbish.

ejmaztec

c_man wrote: »

He didn't wear it daily though.

Didn't he lend it to Freddie Krueger on alternate days?

ballsymchugh

jaysis the guy who wrote it goes into some spiel describing it. i wonder was he frothing at the mouth or having a toss while thinking about the embossed phrase on the cover of the booklet.

Sooopie

Liam Byrne wrote: »

Does the paper have any proof that he paid for the wedding......could she have possibly paid for it herself ?

If she did, then it's her own affair.

If he paid for it, then it's sickening.

Oh, I'd say it was the mother who paid for it...

Snakeblood

Newaglish wrote: »

The family has obviously paid for that article to be written. It's filled with all the gushing elaborate descriptions and over-usage of adjectives that we've come to know and love from property "articles" over the years.

I can't believe anyone reads this rubbish.

I think you might have misinterpreted the article. It's designed to get people angry at the luxury lifestyle of Nama debtor developer. Who in their right mind would want a paid article where they are described in the title as one of the bastards who ruined the country?

And this bit:
And it's probably safe to say that there was little mention of Nama amongst the wedding guests, and if there was, it certainly didn't arise anywhere within earshot of Gerry Gannon, a man whom Nama chiefs Brendan McDonagh and Frank Daly will have been keeping a particularly close eye on ever since it was revealed how he transferred more than two dozen properties into his wife Margaret's name since the bad bank's establishment.

blackdog2

orourkeda wrote: »

The bride would get it.

Not even if she had pedals

krudler

c_man wrote: »

He didn't wear it daily though.

it was the 30's so chances are he did. I wish hats and suits would make a comeback, cant wait till I get old enough to wear one all the time, and smoke cigars, yeah I'm gonna start smoking cigars when I'm old.

hooradiation

FatherLen wrote: »

in his last movie, yes.

the Last Crusade was fantastic, you shut your mouth.

Son Of A Vidic

Wearing his trademark Fedora hat, the low-profile developer.

Low profile? Any muppet wearing a Fedora hat is anything but low profile.

ejmaztec

Corvus Maximus wrote: »

Wearing his trademark Fedora hat, the low-profile developer.

Low profile? Any muppet wearing a Fedora hat is anything but low profile.

I think the words you're looking for are "pretentious" and "wanker".

Sky King

krudler wrote: »

I wish hats and suits would make a comeback, cant wait till I get old enough to wear one all the time, and smoke cigars, yeah I'm gonna start smoking cigars when I'm old.

Totally, me too. And I'm going to be be a grumpy bllocks all the time and drive really slow in the middle of the road and annoy everyone by pretending i'm deaf. Being old rocks!

Hopefully all this media means fedoras will make a comeback!

Teutorix

krudler wrote: »

it was the 30's so chances are he did. I wish hats and suits would make a comeback, cant wait till I get old enough to wear one all the time, and smoke cigars, yeah I'm gonna start smoking cigars when I'm old.

Baseball caps and track suits are all the rage.

That said, suits never went out of style. The people did. Wear a suit everyday and damn anyone who critiques you. Make sure its tailored though, nothing worse than a bad fitting suit.

Sky King

Teutorix wrote: »

Make sure its tailored though, nothing worse than a bad fitting suit.

Agreed. We seem to be great at wearing awful fitting suits in Ireland.

scholar007

Developer + Bank Manager = Loan to Developer

Loan used for Development

Development Sold = Profit to Developer

Was any of the early profits when people were queuing through the night to buy a shoebox ever paid back to the banks or did these guys just keep servicing the interest and ploughing the profits + more loans back into further developments? Some of these guys owe the banks (us) billions.

How was this let go on and on? Yes I know lack of regulation and political will, prudence or whatever you want to call it. This lad with the Fedora got rid of the helicopter and private plane when the shít hit the fan.

These guys were never rich! They wealth was all borrowed and when payback time came - they couldn't pay!

The rest of us try to keep our heads above water while these so called entrepreneurs just kept on borrowing - It was all a huge pretence! These guys were never rich just greedy!:mad:

Snakeblood

Sky King wrote: »

Agreed. We seem to be great at wearing awful fitting suits in Ireland.

It's not the suits that are ill fitting

seamus

€1bn is "I don't give a fnck" money. It's an amount that won't be paid off if he lives for 1,000 years, so why would he bother cutting back and scrimping to pay back his debts when he may as well be pissing in the ocean?

That's how he sees it, and tbh it's probably how I'd see it if I was in his shoes. I wonder why people are surprised that developers aren't freely handing over their money. Most people wouldn't.

What we need to be doing is asking the agencies and the government why they haven't stripped these guys of every bit of spare cash they have.

Capt'n Midnight

hooradiation wrote: »

the Last Crusade was fantastic, you shut your mouth.

http://xkcd.com/566/

Too bad they never made any more sequels