Dublin Opinion

Posted in Irish social history | 2 Comments

2 Responses to “Ansbacher Man Still Stalks The Land”

1. on 28 Oct 2010 at 12:54 pm1ec

   That’s Charlie H. under the hat. I went and looked up Joe Higgins’ speech on Ansbacher Man yesterday as I was sure he’d uttered the phrase ‘Ansbacher Man still stalks the land’ during his noted speech linked below. He didn’t. I think I was mis-remembering this bit: “Ansbacher Man” as we came to know him is extinct, but his DNA lives on”.

   http://www.indymedia.ie/article/8123

2. on 28 Oct 2010 at 1:46 pm2Donagh

   Should have recognised his ghoulish jowl.

   It’s still right. I only vaguely remember the speech, so it was good to re-familiarise myself with this:

   The McCracken report unmasked the secret world of “Ansbacher Man”, revealing for all to see the corruption at the heart of crony capitalism, masquerading as a political and business establishment. The same establishment wants to say “that was then, this is now”. The Tánaiste hinted at this in her speech. We are told that “Ansbacher Man” is as extinct as Neanderthal man or the Tuatha De Danann and that to believe otherwise is as foolish as to say that fairies inhabit the liosanna, ráthanna and ringforts they left behind.

   The establishment is trying to make us believe that “Ansbacher Man” was an aberration, a branch of evolution that suddenly ended and has disappeared without trace, but that is not the case. “Ansbacher Man” as we came to know him is extinct, but his DNA lives on.

   His genetic fingerprint can be found at the heart of major business conglomerates in this State. Cement Roadstone Holdings, which was established by the creator of “Ansbacher Man”, Mr. Des Traynor, is one such conglomerate. It beggars belief that the inspector’s report did not consider CRH to have corporate knowledge and responsibility for the Ansbacher fraud, considering the extent of the involvement of its chairpersons, chief executives and the majority of its board. The offices of CRH were used as a headquarters for the scam. Four of its employees were engaged in the business, including one who kept accounts and another who was sent all over town to deliver Ansbacher booty to defrauders.

   Mr. Traynor was not a peripheral figure in CRH. He was involved in the heart of the enterprise from as early as 1969, when he played a central role in the merger of Irish Cement and Roadstone. He played a key role in the creation of CRH as a major multinational corporation. His methods of hiding the Ansbacher fraud centred around the creation of highly secretive discretionary trusts, the purpose of which was to surround substantial amounts of money or assets with such layers of camouflage that it was impossible to determine their ownership.

   In his book Conor makes a brilliant point about a construction boom in the 60s and what brought it about - and who ultimately paid for it. At the end of it he mentions CRH briefly, and one name, Des Traynor. The rest has been provided by Joe Higgins.

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