DEFIANT former billionaire Sean Quinn remained adamant he had ‘absolutely nothing’ to do with the brutal abduction and attack on company director Kevin Lunney, and that he received ‘rough justice’ when he lost control of his empire.
The third and final part of the RTÉ documentary ‘Quinn Country’ focused on the period of attacks that began in the days after Mr Quinn’s business was taken over and in the following years to try to prevent the administrators from selling off the Quinn businesses.
Mr Lunney was one of several directors who had taken over the running of Mr Quinn’s former business empire, as part of a management buy-out.
He was abducted and seriously assaulted in September 2019, the culmination of an escalating campaign of intimidation against the group’s new owners.
When asked whether he had anything to do with the kidnap and assault, Mr Quinn replied: “Absolutely nothing. Why would I bother my head with Kevin Lunney. Just think about why I would bother my head with Kevin Lunney.
“One thing I think that someone should ask Kevin Lunney is why he was attacked.
“What they have done over the last six or seven years, the level of betrayal, is probably unprecedented in the history of this state.”
But he also condemned the attack on his former associate.
“I don’t think that anybody, regardless of what way they’re annoyed, should have stooped to what they done to Kevin Lunney,” he said.
“That should never have happened. Human beings don’t do that to each other.”
Mr Quinn became emotional as the documentary drew to a close and he was asked about his legacy.
“All I can say is that in my 75 years I never knowingly took anything that didn’t belong to me,” he said.
“I think my legacy will be that I built up a great company, I employed a lot of people in a very poor area.
“I was an honest man and that the area will be more successful because of Sean Quinn than it would be without him.
“And that he got rough justice.”
Last Monday it was reported that originally the documentary had the backing of Mr Quinn but he told the ‘Joe Finnegan Show’ on Northern Sound that after watching it, he could no longer support it.
All three episodes can be seen on the RTÉ Player.
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