SEÁN QUINN’S affidavit in relation to the bankruptcy case in Belfast this week involving Irish Bank Resolution Corporation (IBRC, formerly Anglo Irish Bank) captures the rise and fall of the Fermanagh-born businessman.

It is, of course, a chronicling of his life to date as seen through the eyes of John Ignatius Quinn, to give him his full name.

Nevertheless, it’s a remarkable story of a man driven by an ambition to succeed who built a major diversified conglomerate involved in manufacturing, leisure and financial services from practically nothing.

All of these businesses were at or close to the family farm in Derrylin, Co Fermanagh, which contained “substantial deposits” of sand and gravel.

These provided the raw materials for his concrete, glass and other manufacturing activities.

Arguably, the beginning of the end for Quinn came in 1996 when he established Quinn Insurance, a regulated financial business.

His credentials as an industrialist were well established but the discipline of operating a regulated financial business was something altogether different.

Quinn Insurance enjoyed success in the early years. But it subsequently incurred losses from bad investment decisions made by Quinn; was fined by the Irish regulator; and placed into administration last year.

In the intervening period, Quinn and his family gambled and lost €2.34 billion on secretly building a stake in Anglo Irish Bank before its crash in 2008.

Quinn cultivated the image of a humble man who enjoyed a quiet game of cards of an evening.

In fact, he was intoxicated by high-stakes deal-making. A hot streak of luck over the years had emboldened him to make ever-bigger bets with his business.

His final throw of the dice is to declare himself bankrupt in Belfast while fighting IBRC for control of significant assets overseas.

How did it all come to this?