Sean Mulryan

Sean Mulryan (born September 1954) is an Irish property developer, and the founder and chairman of the Ballymore Group, a Dublin-based international property development company.

Sean Mulryan was born in September 1954, the son of John and Josephine Mulryan. He grew up in rural poverty in the village of Oran, near Castlerea, Co Roscommon, in the west of Ireland, in a farming family with seven children.

Mulryan left school at the age of 17, and trained as a bricklayer. Aged 19, he bought his first plot of land.

Ballymore Group was founded in 1982 by Mulryan, then aged 28, who is the chairman. David Brophy is the group chief executive.

In their 2012 book, The Untouchables: The People who Helped Wreck Ireland, Shane Ross and Nick Webb note that his brother Donal Mulryan used to work for Ballymore before starting his own development company, West Properties, which owns various developments in the UK, including Skyline Central, the tallest apartment complex in Manchester.

As of 2012, he is one of the richest men in Ireland. According to London's The Evening Standard, Mulryan owns more land in London than the Duke of Westminster.

On 16 February 2012, Wandsworth Council approved Ballymore Group's plans for the 15 acre development in Nine Elms. Embassy Gardens is set to provide "up to 1,982 new homes alongside shops, cafes, bars, restaurants, business space, a 100 bed hotel, a health centre, children's playgrounds and sports pitches". In 2014, it was reported that Mulryan had engaged Lazard and CBRE Group to raise about €2.5bn to fund the Embassy Gardens development.

Mulryan and his wife Bernadine live at the Ardenode Stud, County Kildare, with five children. They are very active in horse racing and own "somewhere between 50 and 100" racehorses, trained in Ireland and France. His friends include the athlete and politician Seb Coe and Bono, the singer in the Irish pop group U2. Debbie Harry, of the pop group Blondie sang at his 50th birthday party.