Ryanair chief executive to marry Dublin woman later this year

Ryanair chief executive Mr Michael O'Leary is about to lose his mantle as Ireland's most eligible bachelor.

Mr O'Leary (41), estimated to be the 10th richest man in the State, is to marry Ms Anita Farrell, of Blackrock, Co Dublin, later this year.

A Ryanair spokeswoman last night said the engagement was a personal matter and the couple "would like their privacy respected".

Despite his outspoken nature, Mr O'Leary has been untypically quiet about their relationship, although associates say the pair have been seeing each other for some time.

Ms Farrell, who is in her late 20s, works in the Dublin headquarters of Citigroup, one of the world's largest financial services companies.

While details of the wedding have not been announced, it is speculated that it will include a church service in Mullingar, Co Westmeath, close to his Gigginstown House estate, where Mr O'Leary obtained planning permission to build a swimming pool, terrace and leisure complex.

Mr O'Leary, who has turned Ryanair into one of the biggest airlines in Europe, is estimated to have a personal wealth of around €375 million.

Despite plans to settle down, his determination to stoke up publicity for the airline shows no signs of abating.

The chief executive was prevented from driving a tank into Luton airport this week while dressed in full combat gear, as part of a stunt to "liberate" the travelling public from rival airlines' high fares.

It is not the first time Mr O'Leary has been poised to tie the knot. He was due to marry Ms Denise Dowling, a secretary, in July 2000 at a church service in Mullingar but the wedding was called off at short notice.

While there is no sign that Mr O'Leary is about to slow down, his decision to marry certainly signals a change in lifestyle for the businessman who joked in an interview several years ago: "I'd love to spend the rest of my life in Barbados with a load of babes."