Sean FitzPatrick funeral told controversial banker had 'a lot of professional highs and lows'

Controversial banker Sean FitzPatrick had “a lot of professional highs and lows in his life”, his funeral heard today.

The ex-boss of the Anglo Irish Bank, which cost the State billions when it went bust in 2009, was described by his daughter Sara as a “giant of a man”.

The former chief executive and chairman died at the age of 73 last Monday after a short illness.

Businessman Denis O’Brien, former bankers David Drumm and Tiarnan O’Mahoney, and former Independent News and Media chairman Leslie Buckley were among the mourners who gathered for his funeral in Greystones in Co Wicklow.

Sara told the funeral service how he was a “very loving and very present father” who was “always there for us”, and she described her father as having “this extraordinary ability to connect with people” from all walks of life”.

She said: “So many people have said to us what struck them most about dad was his humility.”

The funeral of former Anglo Irish Bank executive Sean Fitzpatrick at the Holy Rosary Church, Greystones, Co Wicklow (Colin Keegan/Collins)

Sean Fitzpatrick's family, including his daughter, Sara and widow, Caitriona, at the funeral at the Holy Rosary Church, Greystones, Co Wicklow (Colin Keegan/Collins)

The remains are taken from church after funeral mass helped by Sean Fitzpatrick's daughter, Sarah, left (Colin Keegan/Collins)

The funeral cortege leaves church after the funeral of former Anglo Irish Bank executive Sean Fitzpatrick at the Holy Rosary Church, Greystones, Co Wicklow (Colin Keegan/Collins)

“He always wanted to help out in any way that he could, and by God he left a lasting impression on anybody he met.

“He was a man who had enormous mental strength. He would constantly remind us that the measure of a person is not their successes but in fact how they could find a way to move forward when they had been knocked down off a horse.”

The former bank boss became a well-known and controversial figure following the transformation, rise and collapse of Anglo Irish.

He built the bank over 30 years to become one of the biggest lending institutions in Ireland.

But Anglo went bust during the financial crash and ended up costing the Irish state about €29billion.

Ex-Anglo Irish Bank executive Tiarnan O’Mahoney at the funeral of former Anglo Irish Bank executive Sean Fitzpatrick at the Holy Rosary Church, Greystones, Co Wicklow (Colin Keegan/Collins)

Former Anglo executive David Drumm, left, at the funeral of former Anglo Irish Bank executive Sean Fitzpatrick at the Holy Rosary Church, Greystones, Co Wicklow (Colin Keegan/Collins)

Denis O'Brien, right, at the funeral of former Anglo Irish Bank executive Sean Fitzpatrick at the Holy Rosary Church, Greystones, Co Wicklow (Colin Keegan/Collins)

Sympathy messages at the funeral of former Anglo Irish Bank executive Sean Fitzpatrick at the Holy Rosary Church, Greystones, Co Wicklow (Colin Keegan/Collins)

The ex-banker stepped down in December 2008 when it emerged he had hidden loans worth €87million from the institution.

Mr FitzPatrick was declared bankrupt in July 2010. He was arrested two years later by officers investigating financial irregularities and later charged over a failed insider trading scam.

However, the case collapsed in 2015 after it was disclosed that documents held by the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement had been shredded.

Mr FitzPatrick was previously found not guilty by a jury after being charged over multi-million loans that Anglo gave to major clients to buy shares in the bank as its stock market price collapsed.