A veritable Who's Who of the great and good of Irish business has joined forces to invest £17 million sterling (€27 million) in a new share issue by Celtic Football Club.
Financier Mr Dermot Desmond, who already owns just under 20 per cent of the club, has put up another £10 million sterling in the latest share issue, a move that reinforces his position as the dominant shareholder. In six years, his stake could rise to around 30 per cent under the terms of the current share issue.
Mr Desmond has this week stated publicly that he sees the club's future as part of the English Premiership, an ambition supported by Rangers, the other giant of Scottish football. A move to the Premiership has many obstacles to overcome but matters are likely to come to a head when the Premiership's three-year contract with Sky and ITV comes up for renegotiation in 2004.
The other new Irish investors in Celtic include the club's team manager, Mr Martin O'Neill, who is putting up £2 million sterling. Mr O'Neill's decision to invest his money suggests that he sees his long-term future with Celtic and undermines suggestions that he might take over at Manchester United when Sir Alex Ferguson retires at the end of next season.
Other Irish investors include Mr Eddie Jordan, owner of the Jordan motor racing team, who is investing £1 million sterling, and Mr Pearse Flynn, former president of Alcatel Carrier Network, who was linked earlier this year with a possible bid for Eircom's fixed-line business.
Mr Denis O'Brien, chairman of the eIsland group that has made a recommended €3 billion bid for Eircom, who made his fortune when he sold Esat Telecom to British Telecom two years ago, has invested £1 million in the club. The other Irish investor is Mr Tom Lynch, executive vice-president of pharmaceutical group Elan, who has put up £2 million sterling.
Some of the new investors are close friends or business associates of Mr Desmond. But two of his closest associates, Mr J.P. McManus and Mr John Magnier, have not invested in Celtic and their involvement in British soccer remains confined to the 6.7 per cent of Manchester United they bought for £30 million sterling earlier this month.
Celtic raised a total of £22.5 million sterling, with supporters and existing shareholders putting up £5.5 million on top of the £17 million from the Irish investors.