Ben Dunne, the Irish entrepreneur who died in Dubai at the weekend age 74, was often embroiled in controversy, leading Taoiseach Leo Varadkar to describe him as a “larger than life” figure who led “a life less ordinary”.
Born in Cork in March 1949, the former director of family business Dunnes Stores and owner of a chain of gyms lived a colourful life, being kidnapped by the IRA in the 1980s and arrested in Florida in 1992, sparking a scandal in Ireland.
Dunne was found to have paid millions of dollars to Irish politicians over the years, leading to extensive inquiries into the scale under-the-table lobbying in the country.
Dunne died in Dubai while he was on holiday with his son and a friend.
In 1981, masked gunmen from the IRA kidnapped Mr Dunne as he was on his way to open a shop in Northern Ireland. He was released a week later, reportedly after a hefty ransom was paid.
In 1992 he was arrested in Florida after threatening to jump from a 17th-floor hotel balcony in Orlando and charged with possession of cocaine.
The incident signalled the end of his control of the family business, his sister Margaret Heffernan succeeding in ousting him from the business altogether.
A subsequent accounting review uncovered details of Dunne’s payments totalling millions of dollars to politicians, including former prime minister Charles Haughey.
He touched the lives of tens of thousands who will mourn his loss
Leo Varadkar
In 2008, Dunne apologised “unreservedly for the hardship and hurt” caused to a checkout worker Mary Manning, who led a strike at Dunnes Stores outlet on Dublin's Henry Street in protest against apartheid in South Africa during the 1980s.
The employees adhered to a trade union call not to handle any South African produce, and were left on the picket line for two and half years – without pay – while Dunne stood firm. The strike ended only when the Irish government banned the importation of South African fruit and vegetables as long as the apartheid regime continued.
In the aftermath of the incident, Dunne told RTE's Liveline he wanted to show that “as life goes on, even though wrongs were done, you can still overcome them and you can still be friends at the end of the day”.
He later became known for his chain of gyms in Ireland, which bear his name.
The outlets were forced to close temporarily during the Covid-19 lockdowns, marking a period when he sold his luxury yacht and his helicopter, apparently in an attempt to recoup money lost in his businesses, saying: “All the people I know have taken a hit and I think it has done nobody any harm. It has done me no harm.”
The group returned to profit after the pandemic.
Not all of his businesses were a success, however. He once attempted, and failed, to build a cemetery in London.
His son, Robert, said he would miss him in a way he could not describe, news website Extra.ie reported. “He was a good and decent man,” he added.
Mr Varadkar said in a statement: “I was deeply saddened to hear that Ben Dunne has died. A constituent of mine in Castleknock and a local employer, I met Ben many times. He really was larger than life.
“Among other things, he pioneered the fitness industry in Ireland, first with Westpoint and then Ben Dunne Gyms. He led a life less ordinary and in turn he made some mistakes in life.
“The best people do. He never allowed that to defeat him or hold him back. He touched the lives of tens of thousands who will mourn his loss.”
Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald also offered her condolences, saying she was “very sad to hear of the sudden death of Ben Dunne".
“My thoughts are with his beloved family," she added. "He was a good man who cared about people. We will never see his likes again.”
Ireland’s Department of Foreign Affairs said it was aware of the sudden death of an Irish citizen in the UAE and was providing consular assistance.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
MATCH INFO
Liverpool 4 (Salah (pen 4, 33', & pen 88', Van Dijk (20')
Leeds United 3 (Harrison 12', Bamford 30', Klich 66')
Man of the match Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)
The years Ramadan fell in May
GOLF’S RAHMBO
- 5 wins in 22 months as pro
- Three wins in past 10 starts
- 45 pro starts worldwide: 5 wins, 17 top 5s
- Ranked 551th in world on debut, now No 4 (was No 2 earlier this year)
- 5th player in last 30 years to win 3 European Tour and 2 PGA Tour titles before age 24 (Woods, Garcia, McIlroy, Spieth)
Various Artists
Habibi Funk: An Eclectic Selection Of Music From The Arab World (Habibi Funk)
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The five pillars of Islam
RESULTS
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The%20specs
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MATCH INFO
Karnatake Tuskers 114-1 (10 ovs)
Charles 57, Amla 47
Bangla Tigers 117-5 (8.5 ovs)
Fletcher 40, Moores 28 no, Lamichhane 2-9
Bangla Tiger win by five wickets
The Voice of Hind Rajab
Starring: Saja Kilani, Clara Khoury, Motaz Malhees
Director: Kaouther Ben Hania
Rating: 4/5
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More on animal trafficking
'Texas Chainsaw Massacre'
Rating: 1 out of 4
Running time: 81 minutes
Director: David Blue Garcia
Starring: Sarah Yarkin, Elsie Fisher, Mark Burnham
Company%20Profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Cargoz%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EDate%20started%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20January%202022%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Premlal%20Pullisserry%20and%20Lijo%20Antony%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20staff%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2030%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Seed%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
What is the FNC?
The Federal National Council is one of five federal authorities established by the UAE constitution. It held its first session on December 2, 1972, a year to the day after Federation.
It has 40 members, eight of whom are women. The members represent the UAE population through each of the emirates. Abu Dhabi and Dubai have eight members each, Sharjah and Ras al Khaimah six, and Ajman, Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain have four.
They bring Emirati issues to the council for debate and put those concerns to ministers summoned for questioning.
The FNC’s main functions include passing, amending or rejecting federal draft laws, discussing international treaties and agreements, and offering recommendations on general subjects raised during sessions.
Federal draft laws must first pass through the FNC for recommendations when members can amend the laws to suit the needs of citizens. The draft laws are then forwarded to the Cabinet for consideration and approval.
Since 2006, half of the members have been elected by UAE citizens to serve four-year terms and the other half are appointed by the Ruler’s Courts of the seven emirates.
In the 2015 elections, 78 of the 252 candidates were women. Women also represented 48 per cent of all voters and 67 per cent of the voters were under the age of 40.
EA%20Sports%20FC%2024
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Farage on Muslim Brotherhood
Nigel Farage told Reform's annual conference that the party will proscribe the Muslim Brotherhood if he becomes Prime Minister.
"We will stop dangerous organisations with links to terrorism operating in our country," he said. "Quite why we've been so gutless about this – both Labour and Conservative – I don't know.
“All across the Middle East, countries have banned and proscribed the Muslim Brotherhood as a dangerous organisation. We will do the very same.”
It is 10 years since a ground-breaking report into the Muslim Brotherhood by Sir John Jenkins.
Among the former diplomat's findings was an assessment that “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” has “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
The prime minister at the time, David Cameron, who commissioned the report, said membership or association with the Muslim Brotherhood was a "possible indicator of extremism" but it would not be banned.
FORSPOKEN
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Street%20Fighter%206
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Diablo%20IV
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Baldur's%20Gate%203
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The%20Legend%20of%20Zelda%3A%20Tears%20of%20The%20Kingdom
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Assassin's%20Creed%20Mirage
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Starfield
%3Cp%3EDeveloper%3A%20Bethesda%20Game%20Studios%0D%3Cbr%3EPublisher%3A%20Bethesda%20Softworks%0D%3Cbr%3EConsole%3A%20PC%2C%20Xbox%0D%3Cbr%3ERelease%20date%3A%202023%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
RACE CARD
6.30pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round-3 – Group 1 (PA) $65,000 (Dirt) 2,000m
7.05pm: Handicap (TB) $65,000 (Turf) 1,800m
7.40pm: Meydan Classic – Listed (TB) $88,000 (T) 1,600m
8.15pm: Nad Al Sheba Trophy – Group 3 (TB) $195,000 (T) 2,810m
8.50pm: Dubai Millennium Stakes – Group 3 (TB) $130,000 (T) 2,000m
9.25pm: Meydan Challenge – Listed Handicap (TB) $88,000 (T) 1,400m
ALRAWABI%20SCHOOL%20FOR%20GIRLS
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Key findings of Jenkins report
- Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
- Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
- Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
- Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
War 2
Director: Ayan Mukerji
Stars: Hrithik Roshan, NTR, Kiara Advani, Ashutosh Rana
Rating: 2/5
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Company%20profile
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