Ryanair's Michael O'Leary criticises ‘completely unjustified' French airfare levy hike
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Daily Mirror
3 hours ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
World's second richest woman has 79bn Euro fortune but no one has heard of her
The world's second wealthiest woman possesses a fortune of £68.5 billion (or $92.4b), yet her name remains largely unknown to the general public. Francoise Bettencourt Meyers, 72, inherited the L'Oréal empire established by her grandfather Eugene Paul Louis Schueller. She held a position on the board of directors from 1997 until February this year, when she declared her intention to step down. Bettencourt Meyers assumed control of the cosmetics empire in 2017 following her mother's passing. Her struggle to secure her inheritance unfolded in a dramatic French courtroom, culminating in eight individuals being convicted of taking advantage of her mother, Liliane Bettencourt, reports the Express. She currently occupies 20th position on the Forbes billionaires list, which catalogues the planet's wealthiest individuals. Francoise Bettencourt Meyers is an heiress to the L'Oreal fortune (Image: Getty) So how does Bettencourt Meyers utilise her vast wealth? The family's charitable foundation is recognised for supporting scientific research and artistic endeavours, whilst her relatives committed $226 million towards restoring Notre Dame Cathedral following the devastating 2019 blaze. Despite her extraordinary riches, Bettencourt Meyers maintains she has retained the same circle of companions throughout her life. Speaking to Le Monde, the French publication, she revealed she had always been "quite attentive to the sincerity of others" during her youth, saying: "If someone had wanted to marry me on the pretext that I had money, I would have seen it." She's been extra cautious in bringing up her lads, aiming to shield them from money madness. Art curator Alice Walton is the richest woman in the world (Image: Getty) "Our method was to spend a lot of time with them. I always traveled with both of them, but also with one, then the other, separately. We interested them in the outside world, in culture, in art. My husband and I always make sure to listen to them, to let them achieve their goals," said Bettencourt Meyers. Topping the rich list is Alice Walton, 75, who's the wealthiest woman on the planet, ranking 16th on Forbes' billionaire roster with a hefty £84 billion ($112.5b) fortune. The sole heiress of Walmart founder Sam Walton, she's carved out a name for herself as an art curator and runs the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Arkansas, home to pieces by icons like Mark Rothko and Andy Warhol. Walton has made it clear that her mission is "committed to increasing access to arts, improving education, enhancing health, and advancing economic opportunity for all". Hot on her heels is Julia Koch and her brood, sitting at 22nd on the billionaires chart. After her hubby David Koch passed away in 2019, Koch, 63, bagged a 42% slice of Koch Inc., along with her kids, amassing around £55.3 billion ($74.2b).
Agriland
3 hours ago
- Agriland
Nenagh farmer named Arrabawn Tipperary Co-op 'Milk Supplier of the Year'
Dairy processor, Arrabawn Tipperary Co-op has announced the winner of its 2024 Milk Supplier of the Year award. The Tipperary dairy farmer, Ned Kelly was named the winner of the award yesterday (Tuesday, August 12). A spokesperson for the dairy processor said: "With an impressive combination of sustainability, milk quality, animal care, and family dedication, the Kelly farm stands as a shining example of the best of Irish dairy farming. "Arrabawn Tipperary Co-op would like to congratulate Ned Kelly and his family on winning the very prestigious award." The co-op also expressed its thanks to the Kelly family for representing Arrabawn Tipperary Co-Op to the "highest of standards" in their role as a milk supplier. Kelly is the first winner of the award since the merger of Arrabawn Co-operative Society and Tipperary Co-operative Creameries back in February 2025. Kelly, who is based just outside Nenagh in Ballycommon is milking 141 cows along the banks of Lough Derg. The north Tipperary family farm has being run by the Kellys since 1973 experiencing much growth over the years such as the 2023 upgrade to a 12-unit double-up parlour to improve labour efficiency. On February 28, 2025, Arrabawn Tipperary Co-operative Society was formally established following a merger of Arrabawn Co-operative Society and Tipperary Co-operative Creameries. The decision to merge the two companies into the current dairy and agri-trading cooperative came in November 2024. The new co-op owned by over 4,800 members, has 1,400 dairy farmer suppliers spanning across 16 counties and supplying approximately 750 million litres of milk annually. The merger led to the co-op owning: Two primary ingredient manufacturing facilities at Nenagh and Tipperary town, processing almost 900 million litres of milk products annually; 15 agri-trading stores, including facilities at Nenagh, Tipperary town and Athenry; Feed brand Dan O'Connor Feeds; French-based cheese production facility Tippagral. In May, the co-op appointed Co. Cork native, Eamon O'Sullivan as its first CEO since the merger.
Irish Examiner
14 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
Don't be crude: Oil the machine at West Cork's €4m Whiddy Island Estate
A WEST Cork estate on an island both blitzed and blessed by historic events — one that has been assembled by a Belgian family since the 1980s — is for sale for €4m. Hitting an international market this month is what's billed as the Whiddy Island Estate, a quirky mix of farmland and properties totalling 225 acres on the five square mile/5,000-acre Whiddy Island, a 10-minute ferry ride from Bantry. Ferry nice Both a sanctuary and a stronghold over a 1,500-year time span, from monasteries to wars, Whiddy is now best known for its crude oil national reserve terminus — which was developed by Gulf Oil in the late 1960s — and for the 1979 Betelguese oil-tanker explosion that killed 50 people. Aerial view of the Whiddy Island oil tanker Betelgeuse disaster near Bantry in In the aftermath of the Betelguese disaster, and as quieter times returned to Whiddy, a wealthy Belgian individual started to assemble a diverse mix of island holdings, living on the island for considerable periods and with his patient assembly now being sold by his daughters. Agents Ray O'Neill of Sherry FitzGerald O'Neill, in Bantry, and Roseanne De Ver Hunt of Sherry FitzGerald Country Homes and Estates are selling the island estate as an entire at €4m, or in lots, and say the unique mix of heritage, houses, land, and buildings could suit as a wellness retreat, tourism/hospitality, private retreat, or mixed farm-and-accommodation venture. Bank House bar/restaurant is part of the estate sale Largely in one block with other, separate sites, it has water frontage to Bantry Bay, facing east to the mainland and towards Bantry airstrip, with a pier/slipway, comes with up to ten houses, including a restaurant/bar (Bank House,) along with archaeological remains, a ruin with planning for converison and a military battery built in 1804 to defend the bay from French forces. The owner — named locally as Maurice Steenssens — arrived after a mid-20th century/Cold War tide of various nationalities (Swiss, Dutch, Belgian, German, etc) bought land in West Cork, deeming it the safest refuge in the case of any global catastrophe or nuclear attack in mainland Europe. Batteries included: Whiddy has been in defensive mode for centuries, witness this 1804 military stronghold A source on the island said Mr Steenssens bought a house and land in 1989, and later added a number of other houses on small land holdings, along with the three-acre Rabbit Island and the bar/restaurant, Bank House. Most of these properties have been rented for a number of years to various parties and tenants, but all now form part of the sale, with vacant possession for the next owner(s). Easy ferry access The low-lying island is one of West Cork's most accessible, reached by a 10-minute ferry trip from Bantry to a spot called the bank, with history, heritage, walks, and cycles the main attractions. Whiddy island has links to monasteries; to the White family of Bantry House since the 1700s who had a deer farm here; it saw military adventures from Napoleonic times with remnants of defensive batteries; traces exist of the pilchard fishing boom of the mid-1800s, to short-lived use as a US naval base in the First World War; and later as an oil terminus/depot, part of Ireland's strategic energy reserve/defences. Main house by farm buildings The Whiddy terminus — along with a major one in Amsterdam — was sold by Canadian company Zenith Energy to US oil company Sunoco in 2024 in a deal put at €170m, with a breakdown not disclosed between the two locations. Poignant past Whiddy Island has about 30 full-time residents, down from several hundred in previous decades and centuries, with tourism and farming among the main sources of income and employment. Brighter future This month's offer of a 225-acre estate/parcel on Whiddy (including Rabbit Island,) represents about 4% of Whiddy island. Horse Island sold in 2020 for €5.5 million International buyers have put a premium on Irish coastal and island properties: West Cork's Horse Island, with 167 acres, and seven houses sold for €5.5m in the pandemic to an overseas purchaser, having been owned in the 1980s by German Bullworker body-building inventor Gert Kolbel. Maltese creative thinker Edward De Bono owned the nearby West Skean Island in the 1990s. Free spirits Ex-Beatle the late John Lennon bought Dorinish Island in Mayo's Clew Bay in the 1960s, which was later sold to local farmers by Yoko Ono. Clew Bay's Inish Turk Beg Island. File pic: Denis Scannell Also in Clew Bay, Inish Turk Beg was developed in the 2000s as a luxury retreat at a cost put at €9m by Egyptian-Irish entrepreneur Nadim Sadek, later selling in the early 2010s for a reported €2.85m. A man and his island: Nadim Sadek on Inish Turk Beg in Clew Bay Also currently listed for sale are Middle Calf Island in West Cork's Roaringwater Bay, and Dunmore Bay/Horse Island with 60 acres on Co Clare's Loop Head at €9.75m, including modern mansion with swimming pool and helipad. DETAILS: Whiddy Island Estate:
