Dermot FitzGerald (20 March 1935 – 5 February 2006) was a leading Irish businessman and philanthropist. FitzGerald was born in Limerick, Ireland to a southern Irish Protestant family. His father, Gerald FitzGerald, was a bank manager. He attended Wesley College, a prestigious Dublin school run by his maternal uncle Gerald Myles. Upon graduating he joined a host of notable alumni such as playwright

George Bernard Shaw George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence simply as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from ...

and

Chaim Herzog Major-General Chaim Herzog ( he, חיים הרצוג; 17 September 1918 – 17 April 1997) was an Irish-born Israeli politician, general, lawyer and author who served as the sixth President of Israel between 1983 and 1993. Born in Belfast and ...

, the sixth

President of Israel The president of the State of Israel ( he, נְשִׂיא מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, Nesi Medinat Yisra'el, or he, נְשִׂיא הַמְדִינָה, Nesi HaMedina, President of the State) is the head of state of Israel. The posi ...

. In the late 1950s, FitzGerald emerged as a pioneer of

scuba diving Scuba diving is a mode of underwater diving whereby divers use breathing equipment that is completely independent of a surface air supply. The name "scuba", an acronym for " Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus", was coined by Chr ...

in Ireland. FitzGerald's work in the fledgling field of

underwater photography Underwater photography is the process of taking photographs while under water. It is usually done while scuba diving, but can be done while diving on surface supply, snorkeling, swimming, from a submersible or remotely operated underwater v ...

unveiled and displayed the marine life of the Irish coastline to a wondrous audience. At a time when the Irish authorities had no diving capability, FitzGerald was often summoned to lead dives on behalf of the government. FitzGerald began his business career as a trainee in a small accounting firm. Following a series of mergers, FitzGerald quickly rose through the ranks and was ultimately appointed the head partner of

PricewaterhouseCoopers PricewaterhouseCoopers is an international professional services brand of firms, operating as partnerships under the PwC brand. It is the second-largest professional services network in the world and is considered one of the Big Four accounti ...

. In the 1980s, as the Irish economy was experiencing a crippling recession, FitzGerald emerged as a leading insolvency practitioner. His business reputation flourished after a string of successes in rescuing failing businesses. In 1986, FitzGerald was the defendant in a landmark legal case brought by Irish tobacco giant Carroll Group. The court issued judgement in favor of FitzGerald. The precedent set b
Carroll Group v Bourke
defines the legal treatment of "reservation of title". In recognition of his distinguished business career, FitzGerald was featured in Maureen Cairnduff's "Who's Who in Ireland: The Influential 1000". Upon retirement, FitzGerald devoted much of his time to philanthropic activities. He was instrumental in introducing Ireland to the concept of assisted living communities for the elderly. With the help of his wife, Valerie, and friend Reverend Desmond Bain, the President of the Methodist Church in Ireland, FitzGerald founded and developed the first assisted living community in Adare, Ireland, in 1994. Dermot FitzGerald died of cancer in 2006 in his native Limerick, Ireland.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:FitzGerald, Dermot

Fitzgerald The FitzGerald/FitzMaurice Dynasty is a noble and aristocratic dynasty of Cambro-Norman, Anglo-Norman and later Hiberno-Norman origin. They have been peers of Ireland since at least the 13th century, and are described in the Annals of the ...

Businesspeople from County Limerick

People educated at Wesley College, Dublin