Ben Dunne (entrepreneur)
| Ben Dunne | |
|---|---|
| Born |
March 3, 1949 (age 68) Cork |
| Nationality | Irish |
| Spouse(s) | Mary |
| Children | Adam Dunne |
| Parent(s) | Ben Dunne and Nora Maloney |
Ben Dunne (born 3 March 1949, Cork) is an Irish businessman. Former director of his family firm, Dunnes Stores, one of the largest chains of department stores in Ireland, he now owns a chain of fitness centers established by his company Barkisland Developments Limited.
In 1981, he was kidnapped by the IRA and held for seven days. He was released unharmed.
In 1992, he was arrested for cocaine possession and soliciting while on a golf holiday in Florida, USA.
He was again embroiled in scandal in the mid-1990s when it emerged he had given large amounts of money to a number of Irish politicians, mainly from the Fianna Fáil party including the then Taoiseach, Charles Haughey. He also gave money to Michael Lowry of Fine Gael. Mr Justice Brian McCracken, sole member of The McCracken Tribunal which was established by the Irish Government in 1997, found that Dunne knowingly assisted Lowry evade tax. On 22 March 2011, the Moriarty Tribunal concluded of Ben Dunne's dealings with Michael Lowry that "What was contemplated and attempted on the part of Mr Dunne and Mr Lowry was profoundly corrupt to a degree that was nothing short of breathtaking" – the report referring to its finding Mr Lowry sought to influence a rent review of a building part-owned by Mr Dunne.
He now owns a chain of fitness centres called Ben Dunne Gyms in located in Dublin and Liverpool, which he personally promotes on radio, using recent Irish advertising legislation which allows direct comparisons to named competitors. Dunne was working on a new health club, to open in Dún Laoghaire in Dublin, but abandoned the project due to complaints from local residents.
In April 2005 he paid £3,000,000 for a 21-acre (85,000 m2) site in Motspur Park, New Malden (South London), former home of BBC Football Club and other BBC sports facilities, and intends to apply for planning permission to build a leisure and fitness centre. However, he did not do so. Instead, in February 2008, his company Barkisland Developments Limited submitted a planning application to the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames Council for change of use of the sports ground to a cemetery. The application to change the former BBC Sports Ground into a cemetery was withdrawn on 3 October 2008. It had become clear that planning permission was likely to be refused. Objections were lodged by many local residents, sports clubs, Sport England and the Mayor of London.
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