Bernard McNamara one of key players in property boom

Bernard McNamara was one of the highest profile developers of the Celtic Tiger years, owning a string of hotels and development properties and acting as the central player in the disastrous €400 million purchase of the Irish Glass Bottle site in Dublin’s Docklands.

McNamara, from Lisdoonvarna, Co Clare, took over his father’s firm; Michael McNamara Construction, which became one of the biggest construction players in the boom, redeveloping landmark properties such as the Burlington Hotel in Dublin and Parknasilla in Kerry.

The company was also an active builder of residential properties, including the Longboat Quay property, finished in 2006 when the boom was at its peak.

More than 600 residents of a Dublin docklands apartment complex face evacuation from their homes on Thursday on the orders of Dublin Fire Brigade, if they cannot fund €4 million of fire safety works.

Mr McNamara lived the life of a high-profile developer, owning a large property on Dublin’s Ailesbury Road and a range of other properties and spending aggressively on expanding his business interests.

He was involved in one of the highest profile purchases of the Tiger years, being the lead figure in a consortium which paid €412 million in 2006 for the former Irish Glass Bottle Site in Ringsend in Dublin.

The State agency, the Dublin Docklands Development Authority, was also in the consortium.

When the crisis hit, Mr McNamara quickly hit financial trouble with a range of creditors moving against him and his company.

A string of court appearances followed as creditors sought to gain control of his assets. He moved to the UK in 2011 and subsequently was declared a bankrupt under UK law in 2012. He emerged from bankruptcy in 2014.

He has subsequently worked largely outside Ireland - including in Nigeria - but it now involved in developing a project on Dublin’s Stephen’s Green, owned by businessman Denis O’Brien.