A man of tremendous integrity who refused to yield, and who always did his best to do the right thing. That’s the way Paul Good has been described by family, friends and former colleagues since his death 11 days ago at the age of 83. Hugely respected within the property industry for his expertise in the areas of arbitration, mediation, CPO negotiations, ratings and commercial valuations, Good’s name survives him both through the family he leaves behind and in the name of Douglas Newman Good (DNG), the hugely successful residential and commercial property agency he established along with Edmund Douglas and Paul Newman in 1982.
Born in the National Maternity Hospital at Holles Street in Dublin on January 17th, 1941 to Pauline and James Good, Paul Good was raised on Whitebeam Road in Clonskeagh. He attended Belvedere College until his Leaving Certificate year, at which point his mother, perhaps fearful that his keen interest in sport might hinder his performance in the State examinations, decided to enrol her son closer to home at De La Salle Churchtown.
Having attained his Leaving Certificate, he went on to study architecture at the then College of Technology, later the Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT) and Technological University Dublin (TUD), but left in his fourth and final year to pursue his qualification and career in quantity surveying instead. As part of his early professional formation, he joined the well-known firm of property advisers and chartered surveyors, Donal O’Buachalla, while working towards his admission as a member of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) in London. While his expertise and experience in commercial real estate saw him join forces in 1982 with the aforementioned Douglas and Newman in the establishment of DNG, he cemented his professional reputation in later years as an accredited mediator and one of the five professional arbitrators engaged by the Courts Service of Ireland. He also helped with the formation of successive generations of property professionals through the delivery of lectures to students at Bolton Street over the course of 37 years. Many of those students were in attendance at his funeral mass in the Church of the Immaculate Conception, in Ardattin, Co Carlow last Wednesday.
Quite apart from his work, which he loved, Paul Good loved his wife, Eileen, whom he first met at a dance in Pembroke Cricket Club in August 1964. They dated on and off after that and were married on February 10th, 1969, with the precise date of the wedding set to avoid a clash with a fixture in which the groom’s beloved Shamrock Rovers were due to feature. Paul and Eileen’s three children – Emily, Pauline and James – would all go on to attend the club’s matches with their father. Paul Good was a keen hockey player and cricketer too, and was a member of both Monkstown Hockey Club and Pembroke Cricket Club for many years. He enjoyed good food and wine, loved to travel and was an active member of his adopted community in Ardattin, where he served as a member of the board of management of the village school and played the organ in the local church.
Paying tribute to their friend and former colleague, Paul Newman and Edmund Douglas said: “Paul possessed a depth of knowledge across so many aspects of the property industry which is rarely seen today. Garnered over a long career dedicated to our industry, his vast knowledge and expertise was always generously shared among colleagues, students and acquaintances alike.
We knew Paul for a number of years prior to us forming Douglas Newman Good in 1982. He was an eminent expert in the areas of arbitration, mediation, CPO negotiations, ratings and commercial valuations. State arbitration work made him a close advocate to the judicial court systems and such was the wealth of his experience, Paul could be seen in a number of cases almost guiding the procedures. Had he the opportunity of being on the bench, it would have suited him perfectly. His sound professional advice will be hugely missed. A true gentleman, we wish Eileen and his family our sincere condolences.”
Paul Good died peacefully after a short illness at St Luke’s Hospital, Kilkenny surrounded by his loving family. He is survived by his wife Eileen, children Emily, Pauline and James, daughter-in-law Jennifer, sisters Cecily and Geraldine, brothers-in-law, sister-in-law, and his seven grandchildren.
