The businessman behind Dr Quirkey’s Good Time Emporium rarely engaged with the media, his public profile owing as much to family connections as to his business interests
Richard Quirke, a former garda turned gambling and entertainment entrepreneur, has died at the age of 77 following a short illness.
Speaking at his funeral, his son Andrew said that he used the pretext of discharging his duties to secure a date with a local woman, Jan Stapleton. However, Jan confessed to her sister, Ann, that she had no interest in Quirke and introduced them. Richard and Ann would marry shortly afterwards and remain together until his death.Quirke’s transition from An Garda Síochána to the casino business was not quite the leap it would first seem.
However, Quirke’s biggest gamble did not pay off. Always proud of his Tipperary roots, he dreamed of building Las Vegas in the much more verdant surroundings of Twomileborris. On October 28th, 2009, a planning application was lodged with North Tipperary County Council for what local Independent TD Michael Lowry described as “the most sophisticated and ambitious project that Ireland has ever seen”.
Yet, Quirke did not speak and instead handed the floor to Lowry for the hour-long presentation. Not surprisingly, the Independent TD focused on the alleged economic benefits of the project, which he estimated would create 1,000 construction jobs and 2,000 full-time positions when it was up and running.at the conclusion of the press conference. He said he had “considerable monies” and planned to raise additional funding from “foreign investors”.
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