Making his mark not in politics but in property

Yes, he's related to Garret: the former taoiseach and Fine Gael leader is Mark's dad. However, an active life in politics has not yet tempted Mark, despite the predilection of the Irish for political dynasties that stretch back further than the days of Ming.

After leaving Gonzaga, Mark unlike siblings John and Mary, did not go to university but studied auctioneering at the College of Commerce in Rathmines. His interest in the properties located on the highways and byways of Dublin date back to childhood insomnia.

While young Mark lay abed of an evening unable to get a bit of shut-eye, being a city dweller he didn't go for the traditional rural option of counting sheep. Instead, he went thumbing through old copies of Thom's Dublin Street Directory, apparently committing much of their contents about who lived in which house from year to year to memory in the process.

No doubt this made him curious about a future in buying and selling some of these same houses. Of course, his interest in the front doors and garden paths of Dublin may also have come from his upbringing as the child of a politician. One journalist in the past has suggested that Mark's interest in houses "may not have been unrelated to his father's door-to-door political canvasses".

His first job was with FitzGerald and Partners in 1975.

One of the partners was the future lord mayor Alexis FitzGerald (who is not related), whom the FitzGerald part of the company name came from. In 1979 he qualified as an auctioneer and became an associate director of FitzGerald and Company the following year.

The early 1980s saw some partners in the company depart to set up by themselves. In 1982, the company amalgamated with Sherry and Sons to form Sherry FitzGerald. They opened for business with just five houses on their books.

Like his father, who was never let forget the day he arrived for work in Kildare Street wearing odd shoes, Mark's attire has attracted attention in the past. His first day at the offices of FitzGerald and Partners was apparently memorable to fellow colleagues as the occasion Mark shimmered through the doors in a pair of noticeable red socks. He still likes red, nowadays in ties, with his trademark navy suits.

In 1983 he married his long-term girlfriend, Dervil O'Higgins, daughter of former chief justice Tom O'Higgins.

After that, it was all systems go. Sherry FitzGerald set about trying to capture as much of the middle class housing market as it could. Gunne Estate Agents was and remains a major competitor for this part of the market, while Lisney continues to dominate at the prestigious end of the market, which grabs the really jaw-dropping headline news. It handled the Dalkey house on Sorrento Terrace which sold just shy of £6 million last year. In its attempts to broaden its share of the property portfolio, Sherry FitzGerald engaged in a number of marketing wheezes. Among these were longer opening hours, the setting up of local branches, putting women in suits, and the recruitment of a young staff. In a 1995 interview Mark FitzGerald was asked if Dublin house prices might rise to unaffordable levels, as had happened in London. He replied: "Prices cannot shoot up out of all proportion because people's incomes will not be shooting up, and they will not be able to afford them."

But since then property prices in Ireland in general and in Dublin in particular have soared. Monitoring property prices has become a national obsession, and well on its way to replacing the weather as small talk's most popular opening line.

In 1995, when Mark FitzGerald was asked if there were any plans for the company's directors to sell out, he said: "We've had a number of approaches over the years, but because we still haven't reached our full potential as a firm it would be imprudent to sell at this stage." The company was "pretty profitable but by no means a goldmine".

Last year, Sherry Fitzgerald had a turnover of £9 million, returning a pre-tax profit of £1.7 million. There are plans for offices around the country and a national property franchise service.

This week, Sherry FitzGerald had its first day of trading at the Irish and London stock exchanges.

Share prices rose 16 per cent from £1.57. The issue of imprudence obviously passed its sellby date. Mark FitzGerald, who holds more than 12 per cent of the company, has seen the value of his stake rise to £2.8 million on paper. More than 100 company employees subscribed for shares, and some senior directors are also now millionaires on paper.

The economic pundits are currently mulling over the long-term investment value of these shares. Mark FitzGerald points to the demographics of Ireland: 26 per cent of the population is between 10 and 24 years of age, and where are they all going to live in the years to come?

This is a moot question. If the unprecedented housing crisis of the last few years continues, the only brick that many people are likely to own in the near future is the one they feel like throwing in despair through the nearest estate agent's window.

Factfile

Name: Mark FitzGerald

Age: 41

Profession: chairman and chief executive of estate agents, Sherry FitzGerald

Why in the news: Became a paper millionaire this week with the flotation of Sherry FitzGerald on the Irish Stock Exchange

Least likely to say: "It can't last. The property market is going to collapse like a house of cards."