Des Richardson, one of Bertie Ahern’s closest allies and a former fundraiser for the politician and Fianna Fáil, has died.
It is understood he died at home on Saturday evening after a long illness.
Mr Richardson was close to Mr Ahern throughout his life, one of a group of loyal friends and supporters who became known as the “Drumcondra mafia” after the suburb in north Dublin where Mr Ahern had his political base.
Mr Richardson took over Fianna Fáil’s fundraising when Mr Ahern became party leader and went on to become synonymous with the party’s fundraising efforts during the Celtic Tiger period.
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He ran an annual fundraising event at the Galway Races which became a symbol of the support Fianna Fáil under Mr Ahern enjoyed from the construction industry, which in turn benefited from government policy that stimulated construction and property investment.
But the event was abandoned when the economy crashed after Mr Ahern resigned as party leader in 2008.
Closely involved with fundraising for Mr Ahern’s local operation as well as the national party’s finances, Mr Richardson was a sometimes controversial figure and was questioned about matters related to Mr Ahern’s finances by the Mahon tribunal.
He subsequently won a legal challenge to two of the findings made about him in the tribunal’s final report.
