In a separate ongoing legal action , Henggeler, a hotelier whose late daughter represented Washington DC in the 2011 competition, has alleged shareholder oppression against the company’s directors, Anthony O’Gara and John McCarthy. “An estimate of the financial effect of this claim cannot be made,” the accounts state. In recent years the festival of wholesomeness has relied increasingly on State funding, including from several councils, Fáilte Ireland and the Road Safety Authority.
Last year it received a record €278,250 in government grants, up from €125,000 in 2022. Viewing figures are still healthy, with an average of 543,000 watching this year’s final but that’s down from more than 700,000 in the immediate years before the Covid-19 pandemic. Could the truth be dawning that the Rose is wilting? Television presenter Brian Ormond took a rare misstep when he launched a high-end shoe business amid much fanfare in 2021.
Ormond and his wife, Pippa O’Connor, own a fashion label selling everything from jeans to vodka. But it looks like Ormond’s not cut out to be a sole trader. Movrs, 25 per cent owned by Ormond and O’Connor, opened three years ago with shops on Harry Street, just off Grafton Street, and in Kildare Village.
But last year the business folded, with the company behind the shoe brand going into liquidation. The fallout looks set to continue in the High Court. Last week a company called Shuz 4 U Distribution Ltd lodged a legal action against Ormo.