Write stuff: €7m fortune puts Cecelia on rich list

Cecelia Ahern who has amassed a personal fortune of €7m
Monday April 28 2008
Bertie Ahern will be able to rely on his daughter if he needs a dig-out after stepping down as Taoiseach.
His daughter Cecelia (26) was one of the newest entrants on the latest Young Rich List with a personal fortune of €7m.
The so-called 'chick lit' author's wealth is on a par with golfer Graeme McDowell, who has also made over €7m.
Both of them stand at 18th position on the young Irish section of this year's Rich List.
Mr Ahern said he was proud of his daughter's success. "I think she's selling a lot of books. Anyway, she's doing well.''
Ms Ahern's fortunes got a serious boost recently when a film version of her first book 'PS I Love You', starring Hilary Swank and Gerard Butler, grossed €90m at the box office.
Her financial assets stand to swell even further after her US TV comedy 'Samantha Who?' was recently syndicated to stations around the world. Celia's brother-in-law Nicky Byrne of Westlife is doing well. The pop foursome, all in their 20s, are still 10th on the Young List and are worth a combined €34m.
The wealthiest young people in Ireland are Sean and Aoife Quinn, children of the famous insurance businessman Sean Quinn, who is the richest man in Ireland. Sean Junior (29) and Aoife Quinn (26) are worth an estimated €4.7bn thanks to their father's fortune. Their father comes 12th on the British and Irish list of 1,000 richest people.
Further down the list is Ireland football captain Robbie Keane, whose wealth is €9m -- the same as Damien Duff of Newcastle.
Among our entertainers, U2 are the richest at €624m, followed by dancer Michael Flatley with €471m, US TV star Roma Downey with €151m, and musicians Enya with €101m and Van Morrison with €69m.
- Anne-Marie Walsh


