The Maximalist: The Rise and Fall of Tony O'Reilly - Hardcover

Matt Cooper

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0717167216 ISBN 13: 9780717167210

Publisher: Gill & Macmillan Ltd, 2015

Tony O’Reilly strode into the twenty-first century an Irishman apart.

Strikingly good-looking, athletically gifted, irresistibly charismatic and phenomenally wealthy, he had everything any man could want. For many, he was a hero, the living embodiment of Irish potential; for others, he was an arrogant and overbearing presence at the heart of power. Without doubt, he was the most powerful unelected Irishman of the past 50 years. 

His philosophy was simple: I am a maximalist ... I want more of everything.

But it was never enough. And today, O’Reilly’s empire and the formidable reputation it established lie in tatters.

In this landmark biography, Matt Cooper draws on an abundance of new material, including interviews with many of O’Reilly’s closest family, friends, associates and rivals, to uncover the man behind the myth. An Irish epic, it documents in unflinching detail and with great subtlety the meteoric rise and slow unravelling of an Irish icon.

Review:

A thorough and dramatic account of a life that encompasses sport, business, media, speculation and family drama. --The Sunday independent

Brilliantly researched and scrupulously balanced ... A compellingly psychological portrait that will surely be last word on its subject for a long time. --The Sunday Business Post

A discerning and intriguing analysis of both O’Reilly’s ascent to billionaire and his crash to bankruptcy. --Daily Mail

About the Author:

Matt Cooper is the presenter of The Last Word on Today FM, one of the nation’s most popular radio shows. In over twenty years as a reporter (Business & Finance, Sunday Business Post, Irish Independent) and editor (Sunday Tribune), and now as a broadcaster and columnist (Irish Daily Mail), Matt Cooper has enjoyed access to the most significant people in Irish politics and business, putting him in an unrivalled position to assess and interpret the actions of Ireland’s most powerful figures.

He is the author of two bestselling books, Who Really Runs Ireland? (2009) and How Ireland Really Went Bust (2011). He also narrated the acclaimed documentary Dennis Rodman’s Big Bang in Pyongyang (2015) after he travelled with the basketballer to North Korea in 2014. He is a television sports host with TV3 and presented the station’s 2015 Rugby World Cup coverage.

From Cork, he lives in Dublin with his wife and their five children.

• Publisher: Gill & Macmillan Ltd
• Publication date: 2015
• ISBN 10: 0717167216
• ISBN 13: 9780717167210
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 380