The Last Post: The energetic Eddie O’Connor still ahead of the Mainstream

Upbeat, unstoppable and full of ideas, the Airtricity founder has now built and sold another energy firm: this time Mainstream Energy, valued at around €1 billion

Eddie O’Connor: once known as Red Eddie for his left-wing views, he is now reportedly ‘half a billionaire’ Picture: Ferghal Phillips

The remarkable Eddie O’Connor has done it again. Not content with building from scratch and then selling one major energy company, Airtricity, back in 2008 for €2.2 billion, he has built and sold a second, this time Mainstream Energy.

It looks as if he could be “half a billionaire” as a result, as he personally owns 55 per cent of a business that is now valued at about €1 billion in the transfer of ownership ...