David Power showed great “courage and conviction” when he made the “hugely difficult decision” to merge the bookmaking business that had been in his family for three generations with two rival businesses to create Paddy Power, his funeral in Dublin has heard.
The 77-year-old businessman and racehorse owner died peacefully at the Beacon Hospital in Dublin on Monday following a long illness.
His removal took place at the Church of St Paul of the Cross, Mount Argus in Harold’s Cross on Thursday afternoon, where Mr Power attended Mass every Sunday at 8am, the congregation heard.
Gifts representing his life and interests – including the family racing silks, his binoculars and the jersey he wore playing senior cup rugby for St Mary’s – were brought to the altar by his grandchildren.
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Delivering the eulogy, Mr Power’s son Paddy said his father, who inherited the family business following the death of his father Richard when David was 15 years old, developed a reputation as a “fearless bookmaker” throughout his early career.
“There are many legendary stories of the huge bets he took,” Mr Power said. “But only stories of the ones he won. Those stories must have been told by the punters who placed the bets. Because not only would Dad never have discussed the bets he took, one of the things he was most famous for was that it was impossible to know by his demeanour if he’d won or lost. He was unflappable.”
Mr Power, who came from a line of bookmakers going back to 1895, famously set up Paddy Power in 1988 when he merged his family’s Richard Power betting shop business with similar operations owned by Stewart Kenny and John Corcoran to take on the big UK firms in the Irish market at that time.
“He had the vision, the conviction and the courage to make a hugely difficult decision when merging his generational family business with two other bookmakers to make a company that would revolutionise an industry,” the Mass heard.
Mr Power always said the original deal that formed the company “was based on trust”, his son told the congregation. “Himself, John and Stewart put their shops in the pot and negotiated their percentage share of the new company. When none of them were happy, they knew they had a deal.”
Following a detour past a number of Paddy Power shops in the area, the funeral cortege travelled to Mount Jerome cemetery where Mr Power was laid to rest. He is survived by his wife Sabena, their four children and grandchildren.
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