Gavin Duffy: ‘I’m surprised at how much I’ve spent on horses. But having horses is a necessity to me’

Gavin Duffy, best known as the longest-serving investor on RTÉ’s Dragons’ Den and as a 2018 presidential candidate, began his business and broadcasting careers by setting up a pirate radio station in his teens. By his 20s, he was a broadcaster on Morning Ireland and was co-hosting Marketplace, RTÉ’s first business TV show. In 1989, he was among the investors in LMFM, the country’s first licensed provincial radio station, selling it to UTV for €10m in 2004. At LMFM, he met his wife, journalist-turned-media-trainer Orlaith Carmody, and the pair set up a media training consultancy and a recruitment firm. Duffy is the Louth ambassador for Age Friendly Ireland, a WHO initiative that aims to help cities, counties and towns improve the life and health of older adults.