Smurfit Kappa chief Gary McGann has joined the board of bookmaker Paddy Power as an independent non-executive director, the latest in a line of board seats to be held by one of Dublin’s foremost corporate warriors. He will also serve on the board’s audit committee.

Paddy Power’s stock market notification cited McGann’s stewardship of Aer Lingus and Gilbeys before his move to Smufit in 1998. Mention was made of his ongoing chairmanship of Aon Ireland, his non-executive chairmanship of Green REIT and a clutch of academic qualifications.

But there was no mention of McGann’s former non-executive directorship of Anglo Irish Bank, whose collapse imposed such a burden on the State. McGann was on its board until the last, resigning along- side other non-executive directors in the days after Anglo’s nationalisation in 2009. The following month he resigned his chairmanship of the State-owned Dublin Airport Authority, saying he had “acted with honesty and integrity” at all times in Anglo.The stock market notice from Paddy Power also made no reference to McGann’s time on the DAA board. Indeed the single past directorship mentioned in a separate regulatory director declaration to the exchange is his previous place on the board of UDG Healthcare. The past directorships which fail to be cited are those held only in the previous five years. The links between Smurfit Kappa and Anglo were once strong. Former Anglo chairman Seán FitzPatrick was chairman of the Smurfit Kappa board until his departure from the bank, at which point he resigned a number of directorships. Others from the Anglo era faded from view, but McGann is still standing. Paddy Power said its new director’s skills and experience will be of considerable value. No mention was made of his survival instincts.