Darragh MacAnthony
Born	24 March 1976 (1976-03-24) (age 33) Dublin, Ireland
Residence	Marbella, Spain
Occupation	Property entrepeneur, Football club chairman, Former Member Of The National Association of Estate Agents.

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Darragh MacAnthony (born 24 March, 1976) is a Dublin-born, Marbella-based, property entrepreneur and football club chairman. As a 15-year-old, he moved to Spain with his family.^[1]

[edit] Chairman of Peterborough United

Since September 2006 he has been the chairman and owner of Peterborough United Football Club.^[2] MacAnthony was unperturbed by the controversy surrounding Peterborough and the Sky One documentary, Big Ron Manager, which was being broadcast as MacAnthony was establishing formal links with the club.^[3]

When he took over as Chairman at Peterborough, at the age of 30, he had become the youngest chairman in the league. As a sign of his ambition, a printed note from MacAnthony was added to Peterborough United's match programme in August 2007. In it, he promised fans promotion from League Two to the Championship in two seasons, which was duly delivered. He also pledged to challenge for a place in the Premier League within another couple of seasons.MacAnthony maintains his club is financially self-sufficient.^[4]

In January 2007, manager Keith Alexander was sacked and replaced by Darren Ferguson, who was at the time untried as a manager. Ferguson initially delivered big returns on MacAnthony's gamble delivering back-to-back promotions in Ferguson’s first two full seasons. Ferguson left Peterborough, by mutual consent, on 9 November 2009 after a disappointing start to the 2009-10 season. ^[5] AFC Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe was linked with the job, but after discussions with his chairman Eddie Mitchell it was decided that Peterborough wouldn't be given permission to talk to Howe. ^[6]

[edit] Business Interests

MacAnthony formed the property group Macanthony Realty International(MRI)^[7] in Marbella in 2000, which sells overseas holiday homes to mainly Irish and British customers. The Sunday Times Rich List estimated his wealth at £150 million in 2007, and £68 million in 2008.^[8]

He divides his time between his primary base in Marbella, a home in Florida and frequent visits to Peterborough.^[9]

Following a damning report by the NFOPP, affiliated to the U.K.'s regulatory body, the National Association Of Estate Agents, Mr. Macanthony resigned from its membership. The damning report on Mr. Macanthony was upheld on appeal.^[10]

[edit] References

1. ^ http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/sport/2009/0808/1224252231395.html
2. ^ "Fast cars, luxury homes and Tiger Woods for a neighbour, but don't call Darragh a playboy.". Financial Times Ltd. 2006. http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-18588573_ITM. Retrieved 2009-04-13. 
3. ^ http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/sport/2009/0808/1224252231395.html
4. ^ http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/sport/2009/0808/1224252231395.html
5. ^ "Peterborough United 'dismiss' Darren Ferguson". The Times. 2009-11-09. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/football_league/article6910065.ece. Retrieved 2009-11-09. 
6. ^ "Posh look for Swift appointment". BBC. 2009-11-11. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/p/peterborough_united/8354912.stm. Retrieved 2009-11-14. 
7. ^ http://www.independent.ie/business/irish/dublin-real-estate-tycoon-to-buy-peterborough-utd-79243.html
8. ^ "Darragh in 2008 Rich List". Peterborough Evening Telegraph. 2008-04-28. http://www.peterboroughtoday.co.uk/news/Darragh-in-2008-rich-list.4025114.jp. Retrieved 2009-12-11. 
9. ^ http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/sport/2009/0808/1224252231395.html
10. ^ http://www.news.cyprus-property-buyers.com/2008/10/27/mri-malpractice-judgement-by-nfopp/id=00551

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