Tillingdale

Michael O'Leary's personal Mercedes, operated by O'Leary Cabs and complete with "for hire" roof bar

Tillingdale Limited is an Irish company based in Mullingar, Ireland. It was founded in 2000^[1] to provide furniture management and horse breeding services under the name Gigginstown House Stud.^[2][3] Since 2003, Tillingdale has also operated under the name O'Leary Cabs,^[3][4] a provider of taxicab services.^[5]

The company is owned entirely by Michael O'Leary,^[3][6] CEO of the Irish airline Ryanair. During the year 2004, the company made a profit of approximately €500,000.^[3]

Horse racing

The stud farm operation owns the 2006-Cheltenham Gold Cup winning horse "War Of Attrition".^[3][6][7][8]

Taxi services

The company owns a 2007-Mercedes-Benz S-Class taxi,^[9][10] with Mullingar hackney carriage licence MG99^[3][11][12] purchased on a yearly basis from Westmeath County Council^[5] for upwards of €6,000.^[13] The vehicle has a taxi meter fitted and is allowed to use bus lanes within Dublin.^{[14][15][16][17][18][19][20]}

The Mercedes taxi primarily operates between Ryanair's headquarters at Dublin Airport, and Michael O'Leary's home in Mullingar^[9][21][22]—a fare of around €86–£82 each way.^[9][23] During the year prior to 2008, these charges amounted to €70,890^[24] and had risen to €96,010 for the year 2009.^[25]

References

1. ^ "Tillingdale Limited (#333471)". Company Details. Companies Registration Office (Ireland). http://www.cro.ie/search/CompanyDetails.aspx?id=333471&type=C. Retrieved 2010-03-07. "Registered: 04/10/2000" 
2. ^ "Gigginstown House Stud (#194986)". Business Name Details. Companies Registration Office (Ireland). http://www.cro.ie/search/CompanyDetails.aspx?id=194986&type=B. Retrieved 2010-03-07. "Registered: 08/01/2001" 
3. ^ ^{a b c d e f} Felle, Tom (2005-05-24). "No-frills airline boss spares no expense to extend estate". Irish Independent. http://www.independent.ie/national-news/nofrills-airline-boss-spares-no-expense-to-extend-estate-260730.html. Retrieved 2010-05-06. "[O'Leary] is the sole shareholder, ... €500,000 in 2004 ... owns the business name O'Leary Cabs, bought Mr O'Leary's taxi plate in 2003. ... company's main activity is as a stud farm. It trades as Gigginstown House Stud Farm and owns a number of horses, including War of Attrition" 
4. ^ "O'Leary Cabs (#232538)". Business Name Details. Companies Registration Office (Ireland). http://www.cro.ie/search/CompanyDetails.aspx?id=232538&type=B. Retrieved 2010-03-07. "Registered: 10/03/2003" 
5. ^ ^{a b} Connolly, Niamh (2005-01-30). "O'Leary Cabs must open for business". The Sunday Business Post (Ireland: Thomas Crosbie Media). http://archives.tcm.ie/businesspost/2005/01/30/story1983.asp. Retrieved 2010-03-07. 
6. ^ ^{a b} Noonan, Laura (2005-05-15). "O'Leary firms make €500k profit". The Sunday Business Post (Ireland: Thomas Crosbie Media). http://archives.tcm.ie/businesspost/2005/05/15/story4836.asp. Retrieved 2010-03-07. 
7. ^ "The Totesport Cheltenham Gold Cup". Racing Better. 2006-03-17. http://www.racingbetter.co.uk/races_2006/cheltenham/gold_cup.html. Retrieved 2010-03-07. "1 War Of Attrition (IRE) (Gigginstown House Stud) Mouse Morris IRE 7-11-10 Conor O'Dwyer 15/2" 
8. ^ Montgomery, Sue (2010-01-22). "War of Attrition ready for Grand send-off". The Independent (London). http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/racing/war-of-attrition-ready-for-grand-sendoff-1875268.html. Retrieved 2010-03-07. "War Of Attrition, the best horse to have carried the colours of Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary's Gigginstown House Stud" 
9. ^ ^{a b c} Clark, Andrew (2005-06-24). "The Guardian profile: Michael O'Leary". The Guardian (London). http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2005/jun/24/theairlineindustry.travelnews. "with a meter and uses it to evade congestion between his Mullingar home and Ryanair's Dublin airport headquarters. ... an average fare of £82 for his journey" 
10. ^ Brennan, Michael (2010-02-17). "Hopes of airport deal vanish as talks end in recriminations". Irish Independent. http://www.independent.ie/national-news/hopes-of-airport-deal-vanish-as-talks-end-in-recriminations-2066313.html. Retrieved 2010-03-07. "2007 Mercedes car (for which he has bought a Dublin taxi plate)" 
11. ^ Connolly, Niamh (2004-05-30). "Ryanair boss rebrands as O'Leary Cabs". The Sunday Business Post (Ireland: Thomas Crosbie Media). http://archives.tcm.ie/businesspost/2004/05/30/story304436458.asp. Retrieved 2010-03-07. 
12. ^ Connolly, Niamh (2003-07-06). "O'Leary's taxi may fall foul of new regulations". The Sunday Business Post (Ireland: Thomas Crosbie Media). http://archives.tcm.ie/businesspost/2003/03/02/story489157235.asp. Retrieved 2010-03-07. 
13. ^ Connolly, Niamh (2003-03-02). "Taxi plate means no fares for low fares airline chief". The Sunday Business Post (Ireland: Thomas Crosbie Media). http://archives.tcm.ie/businesspost/2003/03/02/story489157235.asp. Retrieved 2010-03-07. 
14. ^ Fitzgibbon, Frank (2005-02-27). "Irish Agenda: O'Leary's departure looks the only dark cloud for Ryanair". The Times (London). http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/article415875.ece. Retrieved 2010-03-07. "O'Leary skates through the bus lanes in his O’Leary Cabs in the rush-hour traffic" 
15. ^ Vallely, Paul (2006-10-07). "Michael O'Leary: Plane crazy". The Independent on Sunday (London). http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/michael-oleary-plane-crazy-419044.html. Retrieved 2010-03-07. "hackney plate for his Mercedes - and had a meter installed in it to classify it as a taxi - so he could legally zip down Dublin's bus lanes" 
16. ^ "Minister to force O'Leary 'taxi' off the road". Irish Independent. March 2005. Archived from the original on 2006. http://www.taxi.ie/oleary-taxi.shtml. Retrieved 2010-03-07. 
17. ^ Lewis, Jane (2006-10-19). "Michael O'Leary: the outrageous Irish airline entrepreneur". Moneyweek. http://www.honeyweek.com/news-and-charts/michael-oleary-the-outrageous-irish-airline-entrepeneur.aspx. Retrieved 2010-03-07. ^{[dead link]}
18. ^ Capell, Kerry (2003-06-02). "Ryanair Rising". Business Week. http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/03_22/b3835074_mz014.htm. Retrieved 2010-02-07. "Mercedes taxi and driver, enabling him to speed through Dublin's notorious traffic in the bus and taxi lane. "I've always been a transport innovator," he jokes." 
19. ^ Dugdale, Addy (2010-04-07). "Crib Sheet: Michael O'Leary, CEO of Pay-per-Pee Airline Ryanair". Fast Company (Mansueto Ventures LLC). http://www.fastcompany.com/1609336/crib-sheet-michael-oleary-ceo-of-pay-per-pee-airline-ryanair. Retrieved 2010-04-12. "In order to avoid commuting-hours gridlock, he paid $6,100 dollars for a taxi license so that he could use Dublin's bus and taxi lanes." 
20. ^ Harrison, Michael (2004-01-31). "Michael O'Leary: Ireland's oligarch flying by the seat of his pants at Ryanair". The Independent (London). http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/michael-oleary-irelands-oligarch-flying-by-the-seat-of-his-pants-at-ryanair-575153.html. Retrieved 2010-05-06. "around Dublin in his own licensed taxi, which he bought so that he could slip into bus lanes" 
21. ^ Clifford, Michael (2010-02-21). "Comment: O'Leary must have had great sport". Sunday Tribune (Ireland). http://www.tribune.ie/news/article/2010/feb/21/michael-clifford-oleary-must-have-had-great-sport-/. Retrieved 2010-03-08. "as O'Leary was driven off into the Mullingar sunset in his mockeyah [sic] taxi" 
22. ^ W (2010-01-16). "Michael O'Leary: 'I don't understand the point of holidays'". Irish Independent. http://www.independent.ie/lifestyle/independent-woman/celebrity-news-gossip/michael-oleary-i-dont-understand-the-point-of-holidays-2016493.html. Retrieved 2010-03-08. "on a farm in Mullingar and O'Leary commutes each day to Dublin airport in his much-famed taxi" 
23. ^ Connolly, Niamh (2003-03-09). "O'Leary's taxi in legal gridlock". The Sunday Business Post (Ireland: Thomas Crosbie Media). http://archives.tcm.ie/businesspost/2003/03/09/story265689731.asp. Retrieved 2010-03-08. 
24. ^ Noonan, Laura (2008-07-16). "O'Leary spent €70,000 on 'taxi' in a year". Irish Independent. http://www.independent.ie/business/irish/oleary-spent-836470000-on-taxi-in-a-year-1433777.html. Retrieved 2010-03-08. 
25. ^ Oliver, Emmet (2010-07-12). "O'Leary pays €96,000 to own taxi firm". Irish Independent. http://www.independent.ie/business/irish/oleary-pays-euro96000-to-own-taxi-firm-2254890.html. Retrieved 2010-07-15.