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	Vatican Gets Huge Donations from Struggling Irish Businessmen (but Not Towards Pope’s Trip to Britain) National Secular Society February 26, 2010 http://www.secularism.org.uk/118778.html Irish builders and bankers who have reigned over a catastrophic virtual collapse in the country’s economy donated nearly ˆ9m to the Vatican last year. Among those named as donors were property developers whose loans have been taken over by the state-run National Assets Management Agency (NAMA). Property developers Derek Quinlan, Treasury Holdings' Johnny Ronan, Ballymore Properties' Sean Mulryan and Paddy McKillen, one of the so called "Anglo 10" all made significant donations. The Patrons of the Arts in the Vatican Museums published recently reveals that these troubled property developers provided ‘financial support’ for the restoration of the historic Pauline Chapel in the Vatican Museum. Fellow donors included former Anglo Irish bank chairman Sean FitzPatrick and the controversial former boss of Irish Nationwide Michael Fingleton. Other donors included Digicel owner Denis O’Brien and William Bollinger, the Irish co-founder of the ˆ3bn Egerton Capital Hedge Fund. The donors were given special medallions after a private mass in the Pauline chapel, celebrated by Cardinal Lajolo last July. Solid gold ‘Michelangelo'’ medallions were given to donors who had given more than $1m, with silver ‘Raphael’ medallions for donors of $500,000 plus. ‘Bramante’ medals were presented to donors of $250,000 or more. A marble plaque listing the names of all 26 donors, including the Irish builders and bankers, was unveiled in the chapel. No mention was made about what medals would be awarded to the Irish taxpayers who have had to bail out all the businesses in which these people were involved over the past year.
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