John Finnegan: John Finnegan, who has died aged 72, was one of Ireland's leading auctioneers, and was associated with some of the biggest property deals of recent times, as well as some of the most controversial.
In 2000 he negotiated the largest office-letting deal in the State, between Eircell and the developers of the Central Park complex in Sandyford, Co Dublin. The mobile-phone operator agreed to an annual rent of £5.25 million.
More controversially he was involved in Telecom Éireann's purchase of the Johnston Mooney and O'Brien site in Ballsbridge in the early 1990s. He was caught up in controversy of a different kind in 2001 when he was revealed as having been a customer of Ansbacher Cayman.
A colourful character, he was nicknamed "The Dancer" and was known for his distinctive trilby hat and love of expensive cars. The sometime owner of a Rolls-Royce, he also drove a red Mercedes sports car and a Jaguar. He was a member of the Royal St George Yacht Club in Dún Laoghaire, and his friends and business acquaintances included Dermot Desmond, Robert "Pino" Harris and Michael Smurfit.
He entered the real-estate business in the early 1960s when he joined forces with Dermot Menton. The economy was entering a period of growth, and Finnegan Menton set up a practice near Nassau Street, specialising in commercial property.
The business name was retained after his partner left the practice and John Finnegan took control. Now in Merrion Row he made a point of cultivating Fianna Fáil politicians, including Charles Haughey. Later Finnegan's firm was retained to work for Telecom several times during Michael Smurfit's chairmanship of the semi-State company.
In the early 1990s he was at the centre of a major controversy over Telecom's acquisition of the Johnston Mooney and O'Brien bakery premises and a nearby building occupied by the television relay company Cablelink. He sought a finder's fee of £150,000 for work done by his firm prior to Telecom's acquisition of the site for £9.4 million. Following Dr Smurfit's intervention, he agreed to accept £40,000 for his efforts.
Even while his role in the Johnston Mooney and O'Brien deal was under scrutiny, he felt it necessary to issue a denial that he had a beneficial interest in the Cablelink premises. This was bought by Telecom for £2.3 million in 1990, and he acted as selling agent. The vendor of the property was the Pembroke estate, and he was a director of the companies that administered the estate. A Telecom inquiry concluded the deal was a genuine arm's-length transaction.
At the planning tribunal in 2001 he was a witness in the module relating to builders Tom Brennan and Joseph McGowan. In the course of the proceedings, his lawyers accused the tribunal of "systematic character assassination" of their client. He complained of unfair treatment by the tribunal to the High Court, but his complaint was rejected.
In 2004 he was refused costs on the basis that he had failed to co-operate with the inquiry. The tribunal had found he had contributed £10,000 sterling towards the corrupt payment of £60,000 made to former government minister Ray Burke in 1984.
In private life he had an immense number of friends. He is survived by his wife Aline, daughters Karen and Tracy and son Iain.
John Finnegan: born 1933; died February 8th, 2006