David Patrick Tyndall Jr. (3 March 1917 – 30 June 2006) was an
Irish businessman. He started out in a family business with his eponymous father and eldest brother William, and played a role in helping modernise the wholesale and retail grocery trade, consolidate it, and enable family grocery shop owners to adapt to the advent of
supermarket
A supermarket is a self-service Retail#Types of outlets, shop offering a wide variety of food, Drink, beverages and Household goods, household products, organized into sections. This kind of store is larger and has a wider selection than earli ...
s. Associated with a number of retail business in Ireland, he was also an amateur pilot. As of 2000, he was recognised by
Guinness World Records as the oldest man to have, at that time, flown a
helicopter solo.
Personal life
He was a son of Sarah (née Gaynor) and
David P. Tyndall
David P. Tyndall (17 May 1890 — 6 January 1970) was an Irish people, Irish businessman in the 20th century, and played a major role in helping modernise the wholesale and retail grocery trade, consolidate it, and enable the family Grocery store, ...
(Sr.). He married Molly (née Kettle) in September 1949, and they had four children.
Tyndall lived in Dublin and died in June 2006.
Business career
Tyndall's experience with
mergers and acquisitions
Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are business transactions in which the ownership of companies, other business organizations, or their operating units are transferred to or consolidated with another company or business organization. As an aspect ...
earned him the nickname "Take-over Tyndall" in Irish business circles. He absorbed many of the employees of wholesalers who closed down (Hugh, Moore & Alexander, Shirley Spence & Belford, McMaster, Hodgson, R. Jones & Co.), and introduced a bonus
incentive scheme, and a scheme of non-contributory pensions for employees. He was behind the first initiative of an Irish wholesale group to establish a
bonded warehouse to expand their wine and spirits business.
After his father's retirement, and in collaboration with his older brother William, he expanded the Tyndall interests to include retail stores, through joint ventures for
self-service stores across Ireland. They resisted a 25%
takeover bid by Irish businessman
Tony O'Reilly in 1971. Eventually they sold AWL to Joshua Watson Ltd., and Dave Tyndall Jr. joined its board. It was later taken over by Irish Distillers, who were later taken over in 1988 by Pernod-Ricard.
William retired in 1980 and Dave retired in 1984, after fifty-one years in the grocery business.
Aviation interests
Tyndall's aviation interests included involvement (as president) with the Leinster Aero Club, now based in TREVET (EITT), near Dunshaughlin, County Meath. The Leinster Aero Club was founded in 1956 and originally based at Weston Aerodrome. As of 2006, the club was based at Trevet Airfield near Dunshaughlin, County Meath.
In addition to being president of the Leinster Aero Club, Tyndall was treasurer of the Aircraft Owners & Pilots Association and the Irish Aviation Council. He was also a committee member of the
National College of Industrial Relations.
Further reading
*''
Tyndall manuscript genealogies'': see MS. vols. F.3.23, F.3.27, F.4.18 in Trinity College Library, Dublin
*''A Guide to Irish Country Houses'', by
Mark Bence-Jones, Constable & Co.Ltd., London, 1988. (pages 19 and 41).
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tyndall Jr., Dave P.
1917 births
2006 deaths
Businesspeople from County Dublin
20th-century Irish businesspeople