Lady Chryss O’Reilly (73), the wife of Sir Anthony O’Reilly, has died.
Born in the United States in 1950 as Chryssanthie Goulandris, she was one of a family of Greek shipping tycoons and held dual US and Greek citizenship.
She was known for her passion for horse racing and breeding and, along with Sir Anthony, previously owned Castlemartin Stud in Co Kildare. She was also a former chairwoman of the Irish National Stud.
It is understood that Lady O’Reilly was in Deauville, the French town known for its equine scene, for the horse sales and races when she died suddenly on Wednesday. She was a popular and respected figure in the equestrian world.
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“She was a very kind woman,” said trainer Eddie Lynam. “I was fortunate to have trained for her for 15 years, maybe more, and she was a pleasure to train for, as she was very knowledgeable. She will be sadly missed in racing throughout the world.”
Lady O’Reilly was seen at Arqana in Deauville as recently as last week, where her consignment of yearlings once again put her among the top 10 vendors of the August sale.
In almost two decades to 2009, Sir Anthony O’Reilly and Lady O’Reilly’s brother, the shipping tycoon Peter Goulandris, pumped almost €600 million of their own money into the china and crystal manufacturer Waterford Wedgwood. The bulk of this was invested between 2005 and 2009 in an effort to prevent the collapse of the business.
Sir Anthony was declared bankrupt in the Bahamas in 2015, after AIB secured a €22.6 million judgment against him in Ireland.
