Fran Rooney (2 December 1956 – 20 May 2024) was an Irish businessman, sports executive and barrister-at-law who was the executive chairman of Blocknubie Limited, which supplies solutions in the

blockchain The blockchain is a distributed ledger with growing lists of Record (computer science), records (''blocks'') that are securely linked together via Cryptographic hash function, cryptographic hashes. Each block contains a cryptographic hash of th ...

and

artificial intelligence Artificial intelligence (AI) is the capability of computer, computational systems to perform tasks typically associated with human intelligence, such as learning, reasoning, problem-solving, perception, and decision-making. It is a field of re ...

.Fran Rooney Law Library
/ref> He had a football background and was the CEO of the

Football Association of Ireland The Football Association of Ireland (FAI; ) is the governing body for association football in the Republic of Ireland. Organisation The FAI has an executive committee of five members under the president, who receive expenses, as well as a p ...

from 2003 to 2004. He was also a chartered accountant and fellow of the

Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland Chartered Accountants Ireland was established by Royal Charter on 14 May 1888, and is Ireland's largest accountancy body. According to its website, it represents over 30,000 members globally. Chartered Accountants Ireland is part of the C ...

. As the CEO of

Baltimore Technologies Baltimore Technologies was a leading Irish internet security firm, with its headquarters in Dublin, Ireland. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was briefly part of the FTSE 100 Index during 2000 when Fran Rooney was the CEO. Histor ...

, Rooney took the company from a small operation to a global enterprise with a market capitalisation of $13.6 billion that was twice named Ireland's company of the year. Rooney was also presented with the 2000 Businessman of the Year by the

President of Ireland The president of Ireland () is the head of state of Republic of Ireland, Ireland and the supreme commander of the Defence Forces (Ireland), Irish Defence Forces. The presidency is a predominantly figurehead, ceremonial institution, serving as ...

and 2001 Entrepreneur of the Year by the

Bank of Ireland Bank of Ireland Group plc () is a commercial bank operation in Ireland and one of the traditional Big Four Irish banks. Historically the premier banking organisation in Ireland, the bank occupies a unique position in Irish banking history. At ...

.Business & Finance Awards Business Person of the Year
/ref> Rooney was the subject of considerable media interest both in Europe and the US following his involvement with Baltimore Technologies and was the subject of an

RTÉ (; ; RTÉThe É in RTÉ is pronounced as an English E () and not an Irish É ()) is an Irish public service broadcaster. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on television, radio and online. The radio service began on 1 January 1926, ...

documentary in the ''Raging Bulls'' series.

Early life

Rooney was born to John and Dolores in

Ringsend Ringsend () is a Southside (Dublin), southside inner suburb of Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is located on the south bank of the River Liffey and east of the River Dodder, about two kilometres east of the city centre. It is the sou ...

on 2 December 1956. He took his

Leaving Cert A secondary school leaving qualification is a document signifying that the holder has fulfilled any secondary education requirements of their locality, often including the passage of a final qualification examination. For each leaving certificate ...

at CBS

Westland Row Westland Row () is a street on the Southside, Dublin, Southside of Dublin, Ireland. Location The street runs along the east end of Trinity College Dublin. History Westland Row first appeared on maps in 1776. It was originally known ...

. Rooney played football with Home Farm,

Shamrock Rovers Shamrock Rovers Football Club is an Irish professional Association football, football club based in Tallaght, South Dublin. The club's senior team competes in the League of Ireland Premier Division and it is List of football clubs by competit ...

St Patrick's Athletic St Patrick's Athletic Football Club, commonly known as Pat's or The Athletic, is a professional List of association football clubs in the Republic of Ireland, Irish association football club based in Inchicore, Dublin, that plays in the League ...

and

Bohemians Bohemian or Bohemians may refer to: *Anything of or relating to Bohemia Culture and arts * Bohemianism, an unconventional lifestyle, originally practised by 19th–20th century European and American artists and writers. * Bohemian style, a f ...

. He subsequently became a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland,

Institute of Internal Auditors The Institute of Internal Auditors (The IIA) is an international professional association. The IIA offers professional certifications and provides standards for the internal audit profession. History The IIA was established in November 1941. ...

and Irish Computer Society. Early in his career; he was the General Manager of

National Irish Bank Danske Bank, formerly known as the National Irish Bank, is a bank operating in the Republic of Ireland. The bank is a subsidiary of the Danske Bank, Danske Bank Group which is headquartered in Copenhagen. Danske Bank is organised in three bu ...

from 1990 to 1993, the Managing Director of Meridian from 1993 to 1994 and the CEO of Quay Financial Software from 1994 to 1996.

Baltimore Technologies

Michael Purser founded

in the 1970s. In 1996, it was acquired by a team funded by

Dermot Desmond Dermot Desmond (born 14 August 1950) is an Irish businessman and financier. He is estimated to be worth €2.04 billion and is ranked by the '' Sunday Independent'' as the ninth-richest person in Ireland. Early life and education Desmond was ...

and led by Fran Rooney. As CEO, Rooney developed Baltimore Technologies into a global data security company. He developed products, marketed the company and listed on the

NASDAQ The Nasdaq Stock Market (; National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations) is an American stock exchange based in New York City. It is the most active stock trading venue in the U.S. by volume, and ranked second on the list ...

and

London Stock Exchange The London Stock Exchange (LSE) is a stock exchange based in London, England. the total market value of all companies trading on the LSE stood at US$3.42 trillion. Its current premises are situated in Paternoster Square close to St Paul's Cath ...

with a market capitalization of €13.6 billion, 1,400 employees and offices in 23 cities worldwide. In 1998,

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...

and

Bertie Ahern Bartholomew Patrick "Bertie" Ahern (born 12 September 1951) is an Irish former Fianna Fáil politician who served as Taoiseach from 1997 to 2008, and as Leader of Fianna Fáil from 1994 to 2008. A Teachta Dála (TD) from 1977 to 2011, he served ...

signed an Electronic Commerce deal using Baltimore's technology. Under Rooney's leadership, Baltimore underwent several successful mergers, became a member of the

FTSE 100 The Financial Times Stock Exchange 100 Index, also called the FTSE 100 Index, FTSE 100, FTSE, or, informally, the "Footsie" , is the United Kingdom's best-known stock market index of the 100 most market capitalisation, highly capitalised ...

, and was also successfully listed on the NASDAQ. Baltimore Technologies was Company of the Year in 1998 and 2000. In 2000, Rooney was awarded Businessman of the Year and was presented with his award by the President of Ireland,

Mary McAleese Mary Patricia McAleese ( ; ; ; born 27 June 1951) is an Irish activist lawyer, academic, author, and former politician who served as the president of Ireland from November 1997 to November 2011. McAleese was first elected as president in 1997, ...

. He was the

Entrepreneur of the Year in 2001.What they did next - Fran Rooney
/ref>

Football career

Rooney was the chief executive officer of the

from 1 May 2003 to 3 November 2004. Rooney became CEO to bring about change in the running of football. Previously, he had an active career as a footballer, playing for

, Home Farm and

and coaching football and Gaelic Football teams. He had been a football manager, managing several teams and took on the role of the Republic of Ireland women's national team manager from April 1986 to 1991.

Post-Football Association of Ireland career

After his role at the FAI; Rooney was the Executive Chairman of Vimio from 2004 to 2005, Ice Broadband from 2004 to 2008 and Mingo since 2017.Fran Rooney LinkedIn
/ref>

Personal life and death

Rooney was married to Mary and had 3 children, along with 2 grandchildren. The couple later divorced and he had a partner named Jackie. He resided in

Castleknock Castleknock () is an affluent village in County Dublin, Ireland, located west of the centre of Dublin city. It is in the modern county of Fingal. In addition to the village, the name "Castleknock" also refers to older units of land division: a ...

. Rooney died of cancer in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

, on 20 May 2024, aged 67. His cremation took place on 24 May in

Ballymount Ballymount (), is a locality on the south side of Dublin, near the mainly residential areas of Walkinstown to the east, Tallaght to the west and Greenhills, Dublin, Greenhills to the south. Ballymount is accessed by a number of public bus routes ...

after a funeral in Castleknock.

Awards and honours

* Businessman of the Year 2001 * Entrepreneur of the Year 2001 * Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland * Fellow of the Irish Computer Society * Fellow of the Institute of Internal Auditors

Education

* Honourable Society of Kings Inns * Bachelor of Law Degree 2008 * Diploma in Legal Studies 2004–2007 * Degree in Administrative Science

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rooney, Fran 1956 births 2024 deaths League of Ireland players Businesspeople from Dublin (city) Shamrock Rovers F.C. players St Patrick's Athletic F.C. players Home Farm F.C. players Football Association of Ireland officials Republic of Ireland women's national football team managers Men's association football players not categorized by position Republic of Ireland men's association footballers Republic of Ireland association football managers 20th-century Irish sportsmen