Quinn could be back in business in 12 months

Sean Quinn could be back in business in 12 months after the High Court in Belfast granted his voluntary application for bankruptcy on Friday. If he were to be declared bankrupt in Ireland, he would have to wait 12 years. However, Irish Bank Resolution Corporation (IRBC), formerly Anglo Irish Bank, is seeking to have this overturned. They said in the Commercial Court in Dublin this week that Quinn's claim before the Northern Ireland courts of having his business address at Derrylin, Co Fermanagh, is "seriously at odds" with information available to IRBC Irish Bank Resolution Corporation, the Commercial Court was told this week. IRBC is seeking summary judgment orders for more than €2bn against Sean Quinn. In a statement on his bankruptcy, Sean Quinn expressed his "great sadness and regret" at having to take that course of action. "Anglo has supported and promoted an ill-conceived and highly damaging receivership programme, which I believe, if it continues on its current road is destined for certain and catastrophic failure. This will have wide reaching effects on the local community in which I grew up and where I still live," he said. The news comes as Liberty Insurance completed its acquisition of Quinn Insurance over the weekend with the Quinn signs replaced on the Dublin Road headquarters as darkness fell on Saturday evening. The new CEO of Liberty Insurance, Patrick O'Brien, in an interview with The Anglo-Celt this week said that there were "no guarantees" for the future of the 1,500 Quinn jobs in Cavan, Enniskillen and Blanchardstown. However he was hopeful that the company could grow its business in both Ireland and Northern Ireland expanding in areas such as home insurance and the commercial sector. For full coverage of the court cases, the outlook from the new Liberty boss and reaction from Sean Quinn himself, see pages 5, 6 and 40 of this week's Anglo-Celt newspaper.