Quinntop

Fermanagh-based glass to insurance company Quinn Group has been named company of the year at the 2006 Irish Business & Finance Awards ceremony in Dublin.

The company, which has diversified over the last 30 years from quarrying into a major international business empire, now employs more than 4,000 people.

Presenting the award at the glittering ceremony in the O'Reilly Hall at University College, Dublin, Denis O'Connor, managing partner of KPMG in Dublin, paid tribute to the achievements of the group.

He said: "The Quinn Group is one of the great unheralded success stories of Irish business.

"The company has grown from humble beginnings in 1973 to become a multi-billion euro enterprise in 2006 with interests ranging from manufacturing to insurance and hotels. "The company's importance to the economic development of the border region is almost incalculable."

Sir Anthony O'Reilly, the chief executive of Independent News & Media, owners of The Belfast Telegraph, received a special accolade at the ceremony.

He was honoured with a special lifetime achievement award for his contribution to Irish business.

Ian Hyland, publisher of Business & Finance magazine, described Sir Anthony as "one of Ireland's most visionary business leaders".

He added: "His impassioned contribution to the development of global brands and international businesses has single-handedly advanced Ireland's reputation on the international stage.

"He has also shown a deep commitment to and a continuing interest in helping Irish university projects and charitable causes through his philanthropic endeavours and his active role in the O'Reilly Foundation has helped raise hundreds of millions of euros."

Maurice Pratt, the former Quinnsworth chief executive and now CEO of snack and drinks firm C&C Group, was named business person of the year.

Tom McAleese, managing director of Barclays Bank Ireland, said that under Mr Pratt's stewardship C&C had undergone rapid expansion.