The Stuff of Legends
Another four high-achievers from the worlds of sport and business have been inducted into the Business Plus Lunch of Legends Hall of Fame, George Morahan writes
Four stars of Irish sport and business were honoured at the second annual Business Plus Lunch of Legends in May. Pat Spillane, Catherina McKiernan, Barry Napier and Mary McKenna were inducted into the Business Plus Hall of Fame at the lunchtime event, which took place at Lansdowne Rugby Football Club.
Matt Cooper was master of ceremonies at the event which saw business leaders from a broad selection of enterprises enjoy stories from the four inductees during their meal.
Paul Henderson, chief executive of DMG Media, said: “It is a genuine pleasure to honour Catherina, Barry, Pat and Mary at this year’s Business Plus Lunch of Legends.
“They have each excelled in their chosen business or sporting careers and are fitting recipients.”
The ceremony also honoured Business Plus founders Nick Mulcahy and Siobhán O’Connell, who launched this magazine in 1999.
Henderson added: “In addition, acknowledging our legends Nick Mulcahy and Siobhán O’Connell for building Business Plus over the last 25 years was a real honour.
“They now move to a future within the wider DMG Media network.
“We welcome new editor Ben Haugh, commercial manager Mairead Kearns and account manager Wini Moore, who along with online editor Cormac Cahill and reporter George Morahan will continue to bring this iconic brand to new and even better places.”
Each of the award winners received a stunning Tipperary Crystal trophy. This year’s Lunch of Legends are: Catherina McKiernan is one of Ireland’s greatest athletes. Her feats were acknowledged last year by Athletics Ireland, when the Cavan runner was inducted into the association’s Hall of Fame.
She twice represented Ireland at the Olympic Games and set marathon records for an Irish female runner, as well as collecting a host of medals throughout her career.
Since retiring from competitive running in 2004, she has devoted herself to teaching runners about the mechanics of safe, injury-free running.
Run with Catherina organises workplace training programmes for businesses interested in supporting their employees’ health and wellness goals. Fit for Business is designed to incorporate 35 minutes of exercise into the daily work routine.
Chief executive and founder Barry Napier kept Cubic Telecom on the road as the company absorbed big losses.
His vision was rewarded in December when Japan’s SoftBank bought a controlling stake in a deal that valued Cubic Telecom at over a billion dollars.
The deal was one of the biggest ever for an Irish-founded tech company, and Barry remains as Cubic Telecom CEO.
Mary McKenna is the founder and CEO of Tour America. In a tough sector,
Mary has faced existential challenges and always comes back stronger.
Her travel business adapted to the 9/11 attacks in New York by diversifying into cruise holidays. It was hit again with a 90% decline in turnover because of the Covid pandemic, but has rebounded to its former position.
Mary was shortlisted for the 2018 EY Entrepreneur of the Year awards, and Tour America has won Deloitte’s Best Managed Company Award 13 times consecutively.
And the final inductee, Pat Spillane is one of the bestknown sportspeople in Ireland. Selected for the GAA’s Team of the Millennium and winner of eight AllIreland senior football medals with Kerry, he is renowned as one of the greatest Gaelic footballers ever.
A school principal by profession, Spillane has also been a celebrated GAA pundit on The Sunday Game and in the Sunday World. He has insight into how government works too after his involvement in a state advisory group on rural affairs.
In the business arena, Pat ran the family pub for a while. He told his own story last year in the best selling autobiography, In the Blood.