*To access this episode and to hear all of our episodes in full each week, visit www.patreon.com/irishmanabroad and sign up for just the price of a pint every month. In return, you will gain full access to our entire archive of all of the podcasts we have ever released including - An Irishman In America, Men Behaving Better and An Irishman Behind Bars. If you come over and join in the first two weeks of August 2020, you will be given something very special as an additional thanks that won't disappoint.*
This week, Michael Lillis joined Jarlath to discuss his very unusual journey from diplomat to aviation giant. Together they examine how he left the comfort of the life of a UN Ambassador in Geneva for the business of leasing planes.
Michael explains the very Irish reason at the heart of Tony Ryan's scepticism over his ability to work for him (44:00), what he believes can be the secret of winning any negotiation (49:00). We also get his thoughts on the future of the EU post-Brexit (1:01:00) and hear the incredible story how his meeting with Éamon de Valera led to him being "sent down" to work with Charlie Haughey (17:00).
Hear why Michael believes Margaret Thatcher betrayed the Unionists "in the most outrageous way" in the Anglo-Irish Agreement (39:00), the grey-areas of giving '"facilitating payments" in the aviation business (49:00), how free public travel for pensioners in Ireland was his idea (21:00) and much more. This is a truly rare and fascinating conversation with one of Ireland's true legends of business.
To hear Michael's bizarre tale of how a deal took a very scary turn in Venezuela and more, become a patron of An Irishman Abroad for just the price of a pint on www.patreon.com/irishmanabroad. You will also gain access to the entire back-catalogue of almost 250 Irishman Abroad episodes that are not available on iTunes.
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