What Ryanair and Michael O’Leary tell us about Ireland

As one of Ireland’s most successful brands, Ryanair - and its chief executive - reveal certain truths about us, not all of them comfortable ones

For roughly 20 years, we have had a love/hate relationship with Ryanair, flocking to its cheap flights while giving out about its treatment of its customers, or its charging policies, or Michael O’Leary - or, recently, flight cancellations.

Meanwhile, despite a set-back in its most recent quarterly results (profits down 20 per cent on the same quarter last year), the airline has gone from strength to strength: it is Europe’s largest by market ...