Seán Quinn says his son played pool with chief suspect in Lunney attack

Cyril McGuinness, the chief suspect in the attack on businessman Kevin Lunney, was known to Seán Quinn and his son socialised with him on a number of occasions, the former tycoon has said.

Seán Quinn was speaking to Miriam O’Callaghan on RTÉ Prime Time in advance of the release of a book he has written giving his version of events in relation to the collapse of the Quinn empire. The book was launched in the Slieve Russell Hotel in Co Cavan later on Thursday night.

Mr Lunney was abducted near his home in September 2019, held for several hours in a horsebox, and viciously attacked. The attackers broke his leg, doused him in bleach, and carved the letters QIH into his chest, leaving permanent scars.

Mr McGuinness, a convicted smuggler also known as ‘Dublin Jimmy’, fled Ireland in the wake of the attack and died of an apparent heart attack during a police raid in England in November 2019.

[ Dublin Jimmy: ‘He spent a long time throwing his weight around this area’ ]

Three other men were convicted of the attack in the Special Criminal Court in Dublin in 2021, and were given sentences ranging from 15 to 30 years.

Asked whether he knew Mr McGuinness, Mr Quinn said: “Of course [but] let’s put it this way. I was never talking to him for 30 seconds, if that is any help. And did I meet him ever for a chat? No.”

“Would any of your family know him?” Ms O’Callaghan asked Mr Quinn.

“Seán Junior played pool with him once or twice,” Mr Quinn said. “That was reported. There was a lot of stuff said about that. But I never met the man. No, I never met the man.”

Mr Quinn has always denied any involvement in the attack on Mr Lunney, who was a senior executive in Quinn Industrial Holdings, the entity which took control of Quinn company assets in the wake of the collapse of the Quinn corporate empire.

During that period, Mr Quinn and his relatives lost key management positions in the company. Before the changes in the company management, Mr Lunney had been a key employee of Mr Quinn.

“I’m not that type of guy,” Mr Quinn said. “I am not into going around beating people up or getting involved or encouraging people in sports or in business or anything else.

“That’s not my style. What I was saying was very clear, was that Mr Lunney wasn’t the main culprit in my downfall.”