Tony Ryan: Ireland’s Aviator

by Richard Aldous

In this authorised biography of one of the most remarkable Irishmen of the twentieth century, Richard Aldous is independent in his judgements and frank in his examination of his subject's shortcomings and eccentricities. But most of all, he writes with verve and pace.

Tony Ryan was born in a railwayman's cottage and rose to enormous success, overseeing the spectacular making of two business fortunes and the dramatic losing of one. After an early spell in Aer Lingus, he set up an airline leasing company, Guinness Peat Aviation (GPA), which had its headquarters in Shannon and quickly became the largest such enterprise in the world. Ryan was a hard taskmaster and the company reflected his ferocious work ethic. Yet, despite a stellar board of directors, a botched and poorly timed Initial Public Offering in the 1990s saw GPA crash and burn. Ryan lost almost everything.

What remained was a little airline that was chronically loss making. Ryan set about turning Ryanair around, putting in one of his assistants, Michael O'Leary, to help knock it into shape. The rest is history. Ryan remade his fortune, lived lavishly and elegantly, was a generous patron of the arts, and in every respect larger than life.

His spirit is one that Ireland needs more than ever today. As the nation strives for its own recovery, it can find inspiration in the story of how one of its most famous sons rose and fell, and then rose again. Not one to stand still or lament mistakes, Tony Ryan's determination never to give up is the real lesson of this story. He was in so many ways Ireland's Aviator.

272 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 30, 2013

About the author

Richard Aldous, the author of The Lion and the Unicorn, is Eugene Meyer Professor of British History and Literature at Bard College. He has been a fellow at the Royal Historical Society, a trustee of the Gladstone Library, and advisor to the British Council, and commentator for the Irish Times and the BBC.

Reviews

[Sebastian Henao · Rating 5 out of 5]

Throughout the book, I constantly remembered a phrase I had heard somewhere, which truly resonated with this story: "Every great dream to accomplish sometimes has its own nightmares." Not everybody will be willing to give what it takes to accomplish their life visions. This is a very interesting and inspiring book for all those who dream of being the architects of great projects. It offers real insights into the life of a businessman and a human being who deals with great struggles, leaving behind a lasting legacy for others.

[Alexey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting read

+ Was surprised I didn't know about TAR before reading this book and it was extremely interesting to explore the history of commercial aviation leasing business as well as first Ryanair decades.

+/- It felt sometimes hard to follow the story as author jumped between years too often

[Malachy Trainor · Rating 5 out of 5]

From humble beginnings in rural ireland to self made billionaire, Tony Ryan is the epitome of entrepreneur. A man who changed air travel forever and paved the way for Dublin becoming the global aircraft leasing hub it is today. Thoroughly enjoyed this book about one of Ireland's greatest ever businessmen.

[Mr E · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read

Great insight into an amazing entrepreneur. It gives a great overview of his success and failure with GPA. A great read

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read, give a fantastic insight into the person Tony Ryan was and the Airline industry. Also what I found very interesting was how he got the $35million depth reduced to $4.5million.

[DaveDog · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic book a lot of learning to be taken from it

[Hugh HACKETT · Rating 5 out of 5]

Persistence is the only differentiator. Fascinating read about building GPA and a global business network despite his modest background. Lost everything and got it back.

[Sheena Lambert · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very enjoyable and quick read. It certainly focussed more on Ryan's professional life than his personal life, and as such isn't a very in-depth biography. However, the story it does account is an incredibly interesting one, and is written in a manner that makes it accessible even to readers not directly involved in business or finance.
A definite recommendation for anyone interested doing business in Ireland, or in Ireland generally.

[Shawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Up to Aldous' high standard. Enjoyable read with a seemingly well balanced approach to his subject. Excellent treatment of a real individual - non-judgemental, but also non-moythologised. Highly recommended.