The Irish community in the 80s was dominated by influential men riddled with significant shortcomings, with names like Charles Haughey, Eamonn Casey, and Ben Dunne echoing throughout. Ben Dunne, the illustrious grocery tycoon, known for his charismatic demeanour and slippery personality, passed away in November last year.
His tale is one of intrigue and drama, encompassing an IRA abduction, familial power struggles akin to those in Succession, a relationship with a tainted Prime Minister, and a drug arrest where the world-famous band U2 makes a cameo. If his life were a movie, audiences would critique it as too unbelievable to be accepted seriously.
“Extraordinary Life: The Ben Dunne Story,” aired on RTÉ One on Monday, thoroughly explores the breadth of Dunne’s life, from being raised as the son of Ben Dunne Sr., the visionary responsible for introducing supermarkets and consumerism culture into Ireland, through to his harrowing kidnapping ordeal in October 1981 at Provisionals’ mercy. The narrative suggests the Dunnes were willing to negotiate for his release, their efforts hindered only by governmental refusal to entertain any ransom demands by the Provisionals. The money allegedly found its way into the kidnappers’ hands nonetheless.
The documentary intriguingly delves into Dunne’s complex life, carefully side-stepping any negative impacts of his business on competitors, choosing instead to highlight his accomplishments. The story begins pointedly with Dunne’s mental breakdown in a Florida hotel in 1992. This was reportedly triggered by a cocaine-fueled escapade with an escort in a high-end hotel, culminating in a psychotic episode.
Dunne had experienced real emotional distress, seemingly showing symptoms of PTSD due to an incident of being kidnapped ten years prior. However, sharing a hotel with the legendary band U2 injects an incongruous note to this tale. Journalist, Sam Smyth, an acquaintance of Dunne’s, reminisces about encountering U2 in the hotel, gathered around a grand piano in the residents’ lounge- a truly unexpectedly sight.
Upon hearing about the arrest of a ‘Dunne’ for drug trafficking, Bono had immediately associated it to the notorious Dunne crime family responsible for Dublin’s heroin infestation in the late 70s. He, like many others, did not imagine that it was the jovial Ben Dunne, who had transformed his father’s already prosperous business into a titanic organisation generating revenues over a billion pounds each year.
Dunne, sporting a hearty complexion and a gift for banter, was every bit the quintessential Irish heavyweight. One individual describes him as being “imprudent after having alcohol or cocaine”. Although born to privilege, the veneration he sought from his father was always hard to come by. Referring to his father’s view of him, ‘He thought I was a prodigal’, he shares in a past interview, ‘He ended up being right. I was somewhat of a rascal’.
Despite not being academically gifted, Dunne proved to be a formidable businessman. His bold ‘bread war’ tactics in the 1980s nearly caused an economic collapse by dangerously undercutting his competition, putting bakeries at risk. He also didn’t hesitate to harshly deal with employees who refused to work with goods from South Africa, a decision he would later apologise for.
His life’s narrative is complex and doesn’t follow a clear direction. After his drug-related scandal, Dunne was ousted from his family business, leading him to start up a chain of fitness centres. His life doesn’t offer any overarching themes or moral teachings for others, aside from a stern cautionary advice against indulging in a cocaine spree in a hotel in Florida.
While the documentary may lack depth in terms of psychoanalysis, it offers a striking portrayal of Ireland as it existed four decades ago. Imagine a time when Dunnes St Bernard brand was a household name, when Haughey, a recurring Taoiseach and recipient of Dunne’s surreptitious benefaction, had a dominant presence in politics, and every alternate TV or radio programme appeared to be anchored by Gay Byrne.
This piece of history is quickly fading from our collective memory. The glowing and unbiased depiction of Dunne serves as a reminder of what that era was like and underscores the improvements we’ve collectively made since leaving those days behind us for good.