When Ben Dunne, the founder of the Dunnes Stores empire, died in 1983, veteran public servant TKWhitaker was fulsome in his praise of him. The two men might have seemed unlikely bedfellows, but there was a strong personal bond between them; both were born in Rostrevor, and Whitaker’s father persuaded Ben to take a job in a drapery shop in Drogheda instead of emigrating in the 1920s. Ben was later to regard this as a turning point in his life, as it began the journey that by his death, resulted in the existence of 48 Dunnes Stores in the Republic as well as 10 outlets of the Cassidy chain.
In penning his appreciation of Dunne in 1983, Whitaker was keen to smooth the sharpness of Ben’s approach to his business; he referred to him having “a clear perception of the principles of management and of the need for vigilant financial control”. He had a “Northern directness” and “rather trenchant wit” and “as an employer he expected efficient and loyal service. He had the reputation of being tough in trade union negotiations but he had been a trade unionist himself and knew how the game was played”. Whitaker was playing down the “hard man” image of Dunne by also highlighting “his soft and charitable side”.
The career of Dunne was, in Whitaker’s view, to be heralded and celebrated, as “It is not often a business version of the log cabin to White House story can be told in Ireland”. Dunne also ensured that this story was very much a family one and that the Dunnes would only ever have to answer to themselves; in 1964, when the company had a turnover of £6 million, he created a trust to ensure the business was kept in the family.
Dunne was notoriously wary of speaking to the media, a tradition that has been carried on by current Dunnes boss Margaret Heffernan. Ben did give one interview to The Irish Times in the summer of 1971 and told the journalist "I run my place like the Catholic Church…a very successful organisation". There is little doubt about Dunne's religious devotion; as was recalled by his son, Ben junior, when he was interviewed in 2002, Ben senior said the Rosary "twice a day every day". It seems some other family members inherited this religious disposition, as well as carrying on the tradition of private charitable donations. Numerous profiles of Margaret Heffernan over the years, including those that appeared in the context of the current controversy over their appalling treatment of so many of their workers when it comes to fixed hours, have mentioned her faith. Designer Paul Costelloe, who designs clothing for Dunnes Stores, insisted in one interview published last weekend "she looks after her staff incredibly well . . . In Dunnes Cornelscourt, there is an oratory where people can go to a church she built for a quiet time. She has a strong Catholic ethos. Above all, she's very human".
This kind of assertion cloaks the reality of the contempt that is apparent in the way Dunnes management refuse to give their workers security by only guaranteeing so many of their employees 15 hours of work per week. The compartmentalisation and spinning of the reality of the Dunnes’ approach to controlling its business and wealth and employees has been apparent for decades, from Whitaker in the 1980s to Costelloe now.
In relation to the need for “vigilant financial control”, referred to by Whitaker in the 1980s: the reality was that Ben Dunne senior was pushing his credit terms with suppliers to the absolute limit to make the profits he desired. With 90 days to pay, he banked his cash at generous terms and pocketed the interest before discharging his invoices; he saw himself more as a banker than a retailer. The demand for “efficient and loyal service” from employees, it would appear from the Mandate trade union’s assertions this week, has resulted in numerous complaints from employees of victimisation in the wake of the recent one-day strike, and the trade union also alleged intimidation before the strike.
Ben Dunne junior also suggested in his 2002 interview “there were many people who worked in Dunnes who gave their lives to it and on retirement did not really get a lot out of Dunnes Stores.” A barrister who defended a Dunnes employee in a court case over theft in 1967 was much closer to the mark when he squared up to Ben senior in court: “You are a tycoon and a tyrant”.
As for the much vaunted religiosity of certain members of the Dunnes family, it has long been apparent in this Republic – and was a point made vigorously by John Conroy, president of the ITGWU in the 1960s and a champion of low paid workers at a time when Ben was building his empire – that you can be so religious, you forget to be Christian.