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Extra.ie
a day ago
- Business
- Extra.ie
I married to get a Green Card to the States, admits pharma boss Sheridan
Presidential hopeful Gareth Sheridan has admitted he secured American citizenship as a result of a 'green card' marriage. And if elected Ireland's youngest ever head of State, the millionaire businessman said he has no intention of giving back the citizenship he obtained under controversial circumstances. Describing how he became a US citizen following his campaign launch this week, Mr Sheridan said: 'We got married initially in America, then we had our big ceremony back in Kildare. Our initial wedding was more of a means to stay together – more I would get my Green Card, essentially.' Pressed further about his marriage to his American-born wife Heidi, he replied: 'Yeah exactly, it was solely [to get a Green Card], we would have had to split up. 'Heidi and I were very serious at that point. We said we would jump the gun on what we already discussed would be a wedding in our near future. 'I think absolutely I will hold onto it [American citizenship]. I travel on my Irish passport. I am an Irish person before anything else.' Gareth Sheridan at the Tullamore Show. Pic: Alf Harvey If he were to win, Mr Sheridan would be the first president since Eamon de Valera to have US citizenship. The Dublin-born businessman made the admission in an interview a day after he launched his campaign on Thursday. He is hoping to get on the Presidential ticket by persuading members of four local authorities to nominate him as a candidate. According to the pharma businessman, two people on four local authorities have agreed to propose and second him as a potential candidate, and he claims to have had a favourable response from four other councils. But he will need the approval of four councils to enter the race. Independent Senator Sharon Keogan is helping his campaign. Born on Dublin's southside, Gareth Sheridan grew up in Terenure and was educated at the fee-paying Terenure College. After studying at the Dublin Institute of Technology he emigrated to America, where the father of one made his fortune through his company Nutriband, which developed a range of products using patches to administer vitamins and other medications. Gareth Sheridan with his wife Heidi and daughter Róe at the Tullamore Show canvassing Susan Leonard, from Pettigo, Co Donegal. Pic: Alf Harvey After selling the company, he then rebought the business, and the company has since developed a patch to administer painkillers. However, the company has been linked to controversies, some of which were highlighted this week as Mr Sheridan prepared his Presidential launch. The young businessman and a business partner were both fined $25,000 by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for providing misleading information about some of their company's products. Three associates involved in Mr Sheridan's company – Serguei Melnik, Sergei Glinka, and Vitalie Botgros – have found themselves at the centre of separate corruption investigations in Moldova and Romania. There have also been allegations of money laundering, suitcases of cash, creditors being left without their money and threats to national security. Mr Melnick was a shareholder in a company that took over the Republic of Maldova's flag carrier, Air Moldova. But after the deal went through, the Moldovan equivalent of the Criminal Assets Bureau seized the assets of both firms amid claims of 'large scale money laundering' and 'fictional transactions'. Mr Melnick is currently at the helm of Nutriband while his business partner is on the campaign trail to become Ireland's next President. It has also been reported that authorities in Romania are investigating their colleague, Sergei Glinka, over a deal that may pose national security concerns. Both Mr Glinka and Mr Botgros worked for a now-sanctioned Russian railway company called Makhmudov, which has been linked to the sanctioned Russian billionaire, Iskander Makhmudov. Asked about his three associates who have found themselves at the centre of various corruption probes and allegations, Mr Sheridan first defended them by claiming their backgrounds had been checked by various regulators. Gareth with his wife Heidi and daughter Roe. Pic: Instagram @gareth_sheridan But he was unable to give assurances that he did thorough background checks on his business associates. And when asked if the three men, who have a major stake in his company, are 'squeaky clean', the millionaire replied: 'Well, I don't know' – before adding: 'If the narrative is that I have some sort of Russian ties, it's absolutely 100% categorically false. I'm saying [I'm] nowhere near it – 100%, not tied to any of that. I'm getting [described as] 'Russian stooge' in one sentence and 'MAGA [Make America Great Again] enthusiast' on the next. 'I mean, that doesn't mesh very well, but I'm a proud Irishman who wants to do a good job and that's what I am.' Mr Sheridan moved back to Ireland with his wife Heidi and the couple's adopted daughter Roe in February after deciding late last year to put himself forward as a candidate to succeed President Michael D Higgins. Despite making housing his campaign pitch for the Áras, the 35-year-old admitted he does not have a solution of how to solve the crises that bedevilled successive governments. 'Well, I don't have the answers to it right now. Collectively, as a country, we need to bring in more voices on it, particularly the younger generations. 'Wouldn't it be a beautiful thing if the younger generations' energy, enthusiasm and entrepreneurship was involved and paired with all the experience of the older generations?' Asked why he is seeking the ceremonial role of President rather than trying to make a difference on the ground by contesting local or Dáil elections, he replied: 'I'm not a politician. It depends on how you look at it – what I'm trying to do is encourage younger participation. If they feel they have a figurehead that they can relate to and represents them. 'One person going into the Dáil, if it was me – to try and enact changes doesn't happen, but encouraging a whole generation of people to now pick up interest and feel like they have a voice, then we're setting a movement.'
Irish Examiner
28-06-2025
- Business
- Irish Examiner
Books are my business: Bookbinder Tommy Duffy
Tommy Duffy is a bookbinder with Duffy Bookbinders, a family-run business based at Seville Terrace, Dublin. How did you become a bookbinder? I am a fourth-generation bookbinder; the business spans three generations. My great-grandfather Paddy was the first bookbinder in the family; then my grandfather Tommy followed him into bookbinding and he and his wife Kathleen set up the business. My father Tom and my uncle Patrick are the proprietors now. Paddy was involved in the 1916 Rising, which interrupted his apprenticeship as a bookbinder. He ended up in Frongoch internment camp, and when he came back, Kathleen Lynn was organising nurses to look after the men. My great grandmother Brigid was designated to Paddy, and that's how they met. He also would have been involved in the War of Independence and the Civil War, and eventually he was able to serve out his time and qualified as a bookbinder. My mother Patricia has always helped out in the business as well. I was always around the business — if you had a day off school or it was the summer holidays, you might find yourself in the place pottering about. When I got to my teens, it was a natural progression to become a bookbinder. I started my apprenticeship in 1997, so I worked here and also attended the school of printing in Bolton Street [Dublin Institute of Technology]. My grandfather Tommy used to teach in Bolton Street part-time, and he would have taught the people who were teaching me, so it came full circle. What does your role involve? Things have changed a lot since I did my apprenticeship. We would have done hardback binding for printers, as there were very few in Ireland with their own bindery. Another big thing was thesis binding and that has completely stopped now; covid was the final blow. Hospital registers is something we still do, as a record of certain information still needs to be kept. We would also have done one-off binds and limited editions. A number of years ago, we started doing our own notebooks. We wanted to do it right, with good-quality paper and binding cloth, and to do as much of the process by hand. It is not just a notebook but also a story about where we have come from. The notebooks are now a huge part of our business because they really took off. At the start, we were producing our own design — the Five Lamps range — and then we also started doing a Celtic collection. We started doing notebooks with logos for bookshops, museums, businesses, and conferences. It all expanded from there. What do you like most about it? It might sound a bit old and boring nowadays but it is nice to make something with your hands, there is a lot of satisfaction in it and people really appreciate what you do. It is lovely to have a sense of pride in something you have made, and we often get thank you messages from people who have bought our notebooks. What do you like least about it? Like a lot of people, it's the day to day admin involved in running a business. Sometimes I think a five-minute phone call could save a lot of emailing back and forth. Three desert island books I live in Drogheda and I commute on the train so I always have a book on the go. My first pick would be Fever Pitch by Nick Hornby — I have a signed first edition. He really captures what it is like to be a fan, and the obsession and the passion that goes with it. The second one is That They May Face the Rising Sun by John McGahern. It is one of those books that is hard to define but the landscape, the characters, the story — it sums up Irish people and what we are about. My third pick would be local histories in general. All through the years we would have bound local histories, and we would get caught up in all the stories. They are hugely important in terms of keeping the past alive. Many people sitting at their kitchen tables have done a lot of work and research on local histories and people are still really interested in them.
