Francis Joseph Charles O'Reilly (13 November 1922 – 11 August 2013) was an Irish businessman, noted for his work in the reviving the Irish distillery industry and modernising Ireland's banking. He served as

Chancellor of the University of Dublin Introduction This is a list of chancellors of the University of Dublin, founded in 1592. Chancellors of the University of Dublin * 1592 – 1598: The 1st Baron Burghley * 1598 – 1601: The 2nd Earl of Essex * 1601 – 1612: The ...

from 1985 to 1998.

Biography

O'Reilly was born into an affluent family in Dublin amidst the

Irish Civil War The Irish Civil War ( ga, Cogadh Cathartha na hÉireann; 28 June 1922 – 24 May 1923) was a conflict that followed the Irish War of Independence and accompanied the establishment of the Irish Free State, an entity independent from the United ...

, the son of a physician. Descended from John Power of the Powers Gold Label whiskey, he was educated at St Gerard's School, Bray, Ampleforth College in Yorkshire and Trinity College Dublin, earning an engineering degree in 1943. During the Second World War, O'Reilly served with the British Army's

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is heade ...

from 1943 to 1946, part of which he spent with the

7th Indian Infantry Division The 7th Infantry Division is a war-formed infantry division, part of the British Indian Army that saw service in the Burma Campaign. History The division was created on 1 October 1940 at Attock, under the command of Major General Arthur Wakely ...

during the liberation of Burma from Imperial Japanese occupation in 1944–45. O'Reilly joined Powers in 1946, during a time when there were only four Irish distilleries left: Powers, Cork Distilleries Company, Jameson Irish Whiskey, and Williams of Tullamore. Since the First World War, the Irish whiskey industry was struggling to stay afloat in the small domestic market, as they had been unable to do normal business in the U.S. because of

Prohibition in the United States In the United States from 1920 to 1933, a Constitution of the United States, nationwide constitutional law prohibition, prohibited the production, importation, transportation, and sale of alcoholic beverages. The alcohol industry was curtai ...

(1920–33) and the Anglo-Irish Trade War. By the 1960s, O'Reilly was joint managing director of Powers with his cousin John A. Ryan, but whiskey sales were still in decline. O'Reilly realised the industry needed to be radically reorganised. Powers, which had acquired Tullamore in the 1950s, merged with rivals Cork and Jameson to form Irish Distillers, Ltd. (IDL) in 1966, with O'Reilly serving as its first chairman. O'Reilly was credited with several key decisions that made a lasting contribution to Ireland's economy. In particular, O'Reilly was instrumental in selling IDL to the French company

Pernod Ricard Pernod Ricard () is a French company best known for its anise-flavoured pastis apéritifs Pernod Anise and Ricard Pastis (often referred to simply as ''Pernod'' or ''Ricard''). The world’s second-largest wine and spirits seller, it also produ ...

in 1988, avoiding a hostile takeover by the UK's Grand Metropolitan group.

Other activity

O'Reilly was president of the

Royal Dublin Society The Royal Dublin Society (RDS) ( ga, Cumann Ríoga Bhaile Átha Cliath) is an Irish philanthropic organisation and members club which was founded as the 'Dublin Society' on 25 June 1731 with the aim to see Ireland thrive culturally and economi ...

(1986–89) and served as the 23rd

(1985–98). He was also a director of Ulster and National Westminster Banks.

Equestrian sport

O'Reilly was very involved in equestrian sport, and was a member of the National Hunt Steeplechasing Committee, president of the Equestrian Federation of Ireland, chairman of Punchestown Racecourse and of the Kildare Hunt, and steward and trustee of the Turf Club. O'Reilly was instrumental in Dublin being selected as the site of the 10th Show Jumping World Championships in 1982. These world championships were the first to include a compulsory horse inspection prior to the event.

Honours

O'Reilly was conferred an honorary degree of doctor of laws by Dublin University (1978) and the

National University of Ireland The National University of Ireland (NUI) ( ga, Ollscoil na hÉireann) is a federal university system of ''constituent universities'' (previously called ''university college, constituent colleges'') and ''recognised colleges'' set up under t ...

(1986). He was also an honorary fellow of his alma mater, Trinity College Dublin. In 2002, O'Reilly was invested as a Knight Commander of the

Equestrian Order of St Gregory the Great The Pontifical Equestrian Order of St. Gregory the Great ( la, Ordo Sancti Gregorii Magni; it, Ordine di San Gregorio Magno) was established on 1 September 1831, by Pope Gregory XVI, seven months after his election as Pope. The order is one of ...

by Pope John Paul II in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the restoration of the Irish College in Paris.

Personal life

In 1950, O'Reilly married Teresa "Tess" Williams, of the Tullamore distilling family. They had 10 children: Mary, Charles, Jane, Olivia, Margaret, Rose, Louise, Peter, Paul and Julie. He died at Rathmore, County Kildare at age 91, survived by his wife and 10 children, and several grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oreilly, Francis Joseph Charles 1922 births 2013 deaths Alumni of Trinity College Dublin Chancellors of the University of Dublin People educated at Ampleforth College Businesspeople from County Dublin Knights Commander of the Order of St Gregory the Great People educated at St Gerard's School, Bray