Eugene Murtagh (born 23 June 1942) is an Irish billionaire businessman, and the founder and chairman of

Kingspan Group Kingspan Group plc is a building materials company based in Ireland trading in over 70 countries with 159 factories employing over 15,000 people. The company operates with five divisions; Insulated Panels, Insulation, Light & Air, Water & Energy, ...

, a building materials manufacturer.

Early life

Eugene Murtagh was born on 23 June 1942, in

Kingscourt Kingscourt, historically known as Dunaree (), is a town in County Cavan, Ireland. It is located near the Cavan– Meath border. The town was founded near the site of the old village of Cabra, by Mervyn Pratt, towards the end of the 18th century ...

, County Cavan, Ireland, where he grew up in the same street as his future wife Andrea Carolan.

Career

In the early 1960s, when he was a fitter and she a hairdresser, they started a business making trailers. He founded Kingspan in 1971. Murtagh is chairman of Kingspan, and was CEO until 2005, when he was succeeded by his son, Gene Murtagh. He owns 16% of Kingspan.

Personal life

He was married to Andrea Carolan until her death in 2014, and they had five children together. He lives in

, County Cavan, Ireland.

References

Living people 1942 births Irish billionaires Irish company founders People from County Cavan {{Ireland-business-bio-stub