Celia’s salon never made money; Business was failing at the time Bertie gave her a dig out

0 Comments | Mail on Sunday (London, England), The, July 18, 2010

Byline: Philip Ryan

DURING a series of emotional interviews this week about the collapse of her beauty salon business, Celia Larkin spoke of how ‘when times are good we make good money’.

Figures revealed today by the Irish Mail on Sunday, however, show that Bertie Ahern’s former partner had consistently recorded a loss since her business opened in 2001.

This was during a period when she was reportedly receiving vast payments from the then-taoiseach and also availing of fast-track loans from Michael Fingleton, then the chief executive of Irish Nationwide Building Society.

Miss Larkin, a former board member of the National Consumer Agency, also faced accusations of bad business practice this week as the doors closed on her salon.

Writing in her weekly newspaper column last Sunday, Miss Larkin implied that her business, Beauty at Blue Door, made money during the Celtic Tiger years.

She said: ‘In the private sector, we make our own choices, when times are good we make good money.’ She added: ‘When times are bad we take a hit. We have at least the illusion of choice.’ Miss Larkin also wrote of how the salon helped her financially and emotionally during troublesome times in her life. ‘My little shop has been a friend and ally to me during the fairly turbulent years of the past decade.

‘It provided me with financial independence and, in a funny way, it also gave me confidence to stand on my own two feet.’ Company records for the Drumcondra salon suggest otherwise. In 2002, a set of business accounts filed by the beautician show losses of [euro]10,067 for the previous year.

The following year, documents show the business recorded its highest deficit at [euro]80,993. In 2004, losses hit [euro]72,790.

In 2005, a loss of [euro]15,649 was recorded, and the following year the firm was in the red to the sum of [euro]24,716.

In 2007, documents registered to the Mahon Tribunal suggested that Bertie Ahern made payments totalling [euro]180,000 to Miss Larkin
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