I am a maximalist ? I want more of everything.? Tony O?Reilly strode into the
twenty-first century an Irishman apart. Strikingly good-looking, athletically
gifted, irresistibly charismatic and phenomenally wealthy, he had everything any
man could want. For many, he was a hero, the living embodiment of Irish
potential; for others, he was an arrogant and overbearing presence at the heart
of power. Without doubt, he was the most powerful unelected Irishman of the past
50 years. His philosophy was simple: ?I am a maximalist ? I want more of
everything.? But it was never enough. And today, O?Reilly?s empire and the
formidable reputation it established lie in tatters. In this landmark biography,
Matt Cooper draws on an abundance of new material, including interviews with
many of O?Reilly?s closest family, friends, associates and rivals, to uncover
the man behind the myth. An Irish epic, it documents in unflinching detail and
with great subtlety the meteoric rise and slow unravelling of an Irish icon.