Tony O'Reilly

O'Reilly was born in Dublin, Ireland, and was the only child of a civil servant, John O'Reilly (1906–1976), and Aileen O'Connor (1914–1989).

O'Reilly's Drogheda-born father, eventually an inspector-general of customs, was born "Reilly" and added the O' when he applied to join the Irish Civil Service.

Sir Anthony Joseph Francis O'Reilly (born 7 May 1936) is an Irish former businessman and international rugby union player.

In cricket he was a member of the Junior Cup-winning team in 1950; in tennis, he was in a Leinster Schools Cup-winning team, and reached the under-15 national semi-finals.

He was also noted for his acting skills (notably in Gilbert and Sullivan operettas such as Iolanthe, and Dunsany's A Night at an Inn).

He was an altar boy, and a regular attender at chapel, and during his time there spent a summer in the Gaeltacht to improve his Irish language skills.

He passed the Leaving Certificate at 17, and with four school mates, studied philosophy, still at Belvedere, for a year after this, while developing his rugby.

He was a prefect for his last two years at the school, and a senior member of a key sodality.

O'Reilly went on to study law at University College Dublin and then at the Incorporated Law Society of Ireland.

In 1951, the family moved to a bungalow in Santry.

Educated at Belvedere College from the age of six, O'Reilly was known for sporting proficiency in football, cricket, tennis, and rugby union.

As a youth, he played soccer for Home Farm.

Between 1955 and 1970 O'Reilly won 29 caps for Ireland.

His Five Nations career of 15 years, 23 days is the longest in history, a record shared with fellow Ireland great Mike Gibson.

He made his senior international debut, aged just 18, against France on 22 January 1955.

O'Reilly toured twice with the British Lions, on their 1955 tour to South Africa and their 1959 tour to Australia and New Zealand.

He made his debut for the Lions on 26 June 1955, scoring two tries against a Northern Universities XV.

He played 15 games during the 1955 tour, scoring 16 tries.

This included hat-tricks against a North Eastern Districts XV on 20 July and Transvaal on 23 July.

He also played in all four Tests against South Africa, making his Test debut on the right wing before a crowd of 95,000 at Ellis Park on 6 August.

He scored a try in the Lions 23–22 victory.

He came fifth in Ireland in intermediate exams in 1956, and first and third in the country in final examinations in 1958, and was enrolled as a solicitor in November 1958.

He never practised after training, but later became chairman of the major Dublin solicitors' firm now known as Matheson.

O'Reilly earned a PhD in agricultural marketing from the University of Bradford, and in addition, holds at least one honorary doctorate.

He scored his four tries for Ireland against France on 28 January 1956; against Scotland on 25 February 1956; against Wales in 1959; and against France in 1963.

He made his final appearance for Ireland on 14 February 1970, after a six-year absence from the national team, against England.

He is known for his involvement in the Independent News & Media Group, which he led from 1973 to 2009, and as former CEO and chairman of the H.J. Heinz Company.

He was the leading shareholder of Waterford Wedgwood.

Previously married with four older children, but estranged from his first wife, John O'Reilly married Aileen O'Connor in 1973, after the death of his first wife and only a little time after he had told his son of his other family.

O'Reilly had been told about the situation by a Jesuit when he was 15, but kept it secret.

He arranged for the John and Aileen O'Reilly Library at Dublin City University to be named after his parents, and O'Reilly Hall at University College Dublin to be named after his father, who had studied there.

O'Reilly, named "Tony" after his mother's favourite brother, grew up on Griffith Avenue, a broad middle-class street in the Drumcondra/Glasnevin area of Dublin.

He had prominent red hair.

He holidayed with family, including an aunt in Balbriggan, cousins in Sligo and others in Drogheda.

This final appearance was an 11th-hour replacement, denying Frank O'Driscoll—father of Brian, Ireland's most-capped player—what would prove to be his only chance at a Test cap.

Perhaps Ireland's first billionaire, as of 26 May 2014 O'Reilly was being pursued in the Irish courts for debts amounting to €22 million by AIB, following losses amounting to hundreds of millions of euros in his unsuccessful attempt to stop Denis O'Brien from assuming control of Independent News & Media.

As a rugby player, he represented Ireland, the British and Irish Lions and the Barbarians and is enshrined as a member of the International Rugby Board's Hall of Fame.

O'Reilly has six children and 19 grandchildren and is married to Chryss Goulandris.

He lived in Lyford Cay in the Bahamas until 2017, when the property was sold for less than €12 million as part of a bankruptcy arrangement.

O'Reilly now lives in Chateau des Ducs de Normandie in Bonneville-sur-Touques in France.