Ken McQuillan: Ken McQuillan, who has died aged 73, was a former supreme knight of the Knights of St Columbanus.
Born on January 23rd, 1931, in Drogheda, Co Louth, he was one of four children of Jack McQuillan and his wife, Bridget (née Kennedy). His father was a barber and part-time musician, who led his own dance band.
Educated by the Christian Brothers at St Joseph's Secondary School, Drogheda, he left school at 16 on completing his Leaving Certificate in 1947.
He joined Kennedy, Crowley and Co, which later became KPMG, qualifying as a chartered accountant in 1955. He then established his own successful practice. He thrived on work and never retired. At the time of his death, he was senior partner in McQuillans-DFK, in Drury Street, Dublin.
A founding member of DFK International, a worldwide association of chartered accountants, he was for over 30 years director and budget officer of the organisation. A fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland, he was a past chairman of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and a chartered tax adviser.
In 1958 he joined the Order of the Knights of St Columbanus, the organisation of Catholic laymen founded in 1915 as a response to the papal encyclical, Rerum Novarum. As treasurer, he was credited with putting the order on a sound financial footing. He held office as supreme knight from 1984 to 1987 and was made a knight of St Gregory in 1988.
He campaigned to curb the activities of moneylenders. Working with the Society of St Vincent de Paul and the credit union movement, his efforts were rewarded by the passing of the Consumer Credit Bill in the early 1990s.
A keen sportsman, he played rugby for Drogheda as a young man and was also a very competitive table-tennis player. A member of Drogheda Rowing Club, his achievements included wins in the Murphy Challenge at Carrick-on-Shannon. His hobbies in later life included philately, history and music. He remained an ardent rugby supporter and was also a member of Woodenbridge and Courtown Golf Clubs.
Art was another of his interests, and he was secretary of the executive committee of Rosc, which in the 1970s and 1980s organised a series of acclaimed art exhibitions in Dublin.
A member of the Irish Episcopal Committee for the Laity from 1983 to 1999, he was also assistant financial secretary of the International Alliance of Catholic Knights.
He never lost touch with his hometown and was a patron of the Old Drogheda Society and a member of St Joseph's CBS Past Pupils' Union. He was a member of Fitzwilliam Lawn Tennis Club and of Stephen's Green Hibernian Club.
He married in 1959 Maeve Foy who, with their sons, John and Daniel, and daughters, Fiona and Jean, survives him.
Kenneth McQuillan: born January 23rd, 1931; died September 4th, 2004