Tony Ryan

Oct 5 2007 by David Charters, Liverpool Daily Post

HE WAS the dapper cavalier of a new Ireland, which had slipped the ancient grip of priests, peat fires, black stout, poets, bogs, Blarney men, rebel songs and little people, to surge through the butt end of the 20th century as a Celtic tiger, exciting money markets everywhere.

And so he was hailed as one of the greatest Irishmen of his generation, though some social commentators were less enthusiastic about his talent for packing no-frills’ aeroplanes with young people eager to sample booze and sex in foreign lands.

But cheap air-fares also opened air travel to low-income families, who might otherwise have been trapped in tin caravans or enduring swollen-bellies and easy-listening music on charabanc tours of the Fylde coast.

Tony Ryan was king of these sky-routes, adding hugely to the success and expansion of John Lennon Airport, Liverpool, where Ryanair is the biggest operator.

The rich and powerful queued up to pay tribute to this train driver’s son, born in Thurles, County Tipperary.

“Ryanair is one of the greatest Irish economic success stories and will be rightly regarded as perhaps his greatest legacy,” said the Taoiseach Bertie Ahern.

Romance and tragedy joined Ryan’s story. Having to abandon hopes of a university education after his father’s death, the teenager became a management trainee at Aer Lingus in 1956.

But he yearned to make big bucks for himself. In 1974, with £5,000 of his own money and £45,000 in borrowings, he began the aircraft leasing business GPA, in the west of Ireland.

Eleven years later, he started Ryanair with a share capital of £1 and a staff of 25. With a 15-seater Bandeirante plane, he ran daily flights from Waterford to Gatwick. But a complete break with the little people was not immediately possible. The first crews had to be less than 5ft 2ins to operate in the tiny cabin.

Yet Ryanair grew into Europe's largest low fares’ operator. This year it will carry 50m passengers on 557 low-fare routes across 26 European countries. It employs a team of 4,800 people from 25 different nationalities.

In more recent times, Ryan, a devoted family man, had suffered illness with bravery, while his protegé, Michael O’Leary, sustained the airline’s success.

Art, wine and bloodstock breeding were among his interests.

Tony Ryan, businessman; born February 2, 1936, died October 3, 2007.