Serial entrepreneur Bobby Healy, who owns drone company Manna financially backed by a fund founded by Paddy Cosgrave and his fellow shareholders, believes that Cosgrave’s reappointment as CEO of Web Summit could be a “high-stakes manoeuver”. This development occurs six months after Cosgrave vacated the post due to numerous tech businesses distancing themselves from the Web Summit in November in reaction to his remarks about Israel. Despite controversies, Cosgrave, who holds 81% of the business, publicised his decision to resume his leadership role at the enterprise this week.
Healy praises Cosgrave’s leadership abilities while emphasising that his reinstatement might prove to be a blunder if those Cosgrave upset last year, including companies and venture capitalists, do not engage in future Web Summit events. “It’s a rather foolish approach to express political beliefs contrary to key American customers and corporate sponsors,” Healy states. Healy continues jokingly, putting the Web Summit’s future squarely on Paddy’s shoulders and predicting potential hurdles if Paddy intends to maintain the status quo. Nonetheless, he is optimistic and hopes for no setbacks.
Announcing his comeback on his X account on Monday, where he has an audience of over 97,000, Cosgrave’s return was on the heels of his controversial posts featuring images of the late IRA bomb-making expert, Rose Dugdale and a young woman associated with the Web Summit in the past whom he labelled as a “petty crook”. This perplexing post remains unexplained. A pending judgment regarding a request from the minority shareholders awaits regarding Cosgrave’s comments about Israel last year, which they argue led to substantial financial hardship to the company they co-own.
After Leo Varadkar confirmed his resignation as taoiseach, a tweet from Cosgrave promised a press conference to unveil the reasons for Varadkar’s decision, yet no such press conference took place. Additionally, Cosgrave has repeated claims of an upcoming press conference to divulge information about a High Court conflict with two minority stakeholders in Web Summit, but this has yet to transpire. Recently, it seems that Cosgrave has attributed his struggles to a “strategically executed campaign” endeavouring to tarnish his image. This refers to discussions regarding advocates of Israel, who hold a significant presence in the tech and venture capital sectors, aiding the Israeli government’s social media “propaganda battle” in relation to the Gaza conflict. His resignation the previous year has been viewed as a victory in this sphere.
Within the High Court clash involving minority shareholders Daire Hickey and David Kelly, key topics include Cosgrave’s personality, political leanings, funding of the Ditch website and allegations of his effort to subject Varadkar to “severe political harm”. A provisional decision awaits on a request from the minority shareholders concerning Cosgrave’s online remarks regarding Israel the previous year that they claim led to notable financial detriment to their partly-owned business. The request entails the discovery of documents related to the Ditch’s funding. The case’s main focus revolves around the worth of Web Summit, with figures up to €350 million being suggested.
The Ditch, which has benefitted from financial aid from Web Summit, showcased an image of the Palestinian flag on the same day as the October 7th Hamas assault, during which over a thousand individuals were killed and over 200 abducted. Cosgrave, on this same day, shared an image of the casualty toll in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict spanning the years 2008 to 2023. This post has since been removed, as reported by Hickey and Kelly.
Bobby Healy believes that individuals who decided to pull out of the Web Summit haven’t forgotten the event of the Ditch flying the Palestinian flag on 7th October. He suggests they are likely waiting for an explanation owing to their need to safeguard their respective brands. He states that it is Paddy’s responsibility to ensure his brand does not become an undesirable one.
Healy further comments that the international community didn’t react when Cosgrave targeted Varadkar. However, the situation changed when Cosgrave started expressing his views on the Palestine issue. According to Healy, this caught the attention of a prominent US-based Israeli investor from Silicon Valley, Gil Dibner. It was Dibner, Healy mentions, who appeared severely upset by Cosgrave’s comments and spearheaded public outrage against him. Healy hints that reconciliation may rest in the hands of Dibner and individuals like him.
Moreover, Healy observes that whether Cosgrave possesses the necessary personality traits to mend these strained relationships is a significant point to consider. An anonymous source describes Paddy as an intriguing individual who possibly enjoys his controversial reputation. The source says Paddy is obsessed with social media and could be shaken by it. He is also viewed as a person of privilege, with a background in a prestigious boarding school in Limerick and as the president of the Philosophical Society at Trinity College Dublin. The source strongly believes that the narrative of Paddy’s humility, being a farmer’s son, doesn’t seem to match his actions.
In his own assertion, Cosgrave has classed himself as a privileged ‘crony’, stating his wealth allows him to simply say things as they are and still have fun. Cosgrave’s dealings with Denis O’Brien deteriorated after his embarking upon what Daire Hickey refers to as an “abusive Twitter campaign” against O’Brien once Digicel, O’Brien’s company, ceased their sponsorship of the Web Summit.
In his sworn statement to the High Court, Hickey expressed his discontent, alleging that Cosgrave often harbours minor grudges against influential business and political personalities whom he feels have neglected or undervalued him. He tries to cover this up as politically principled positions, he adds.
Mr Cosgrave considered businessman, Denis O’Brien, a mentor, often discussing the advice given to him by O’Brien, particularly in matters of negotiations and handling the media. Cosgrave made multiple trips with O’Brien on his private jet to places like Davos, in Switzerland, and the USA.
After Digicel’s cessation of the Web Summit sponsorship, Cosgrave, Hickey attests, has launched a denigrating campaign via Twitter against O’Brien, distinctly connecting it to the Web Summit. Hickey believes the defamatory nature of these tweets tarnishes the image of the Web Summit, discouraging other establishments from considering sponsoring it for fear of any potential drawbacks in case the sponsorship concludes.
In a statement replying to these allegations, Cosgrave dismisses the notion that he is driven by vendettas, such as against prominent figures like Leo Varadkar. Instead, he claims his drive is fuelled by a desire to better Ireland. He could easily enjoy a comfortable lifestyle, but he prefers a way of life devoid of regrets. He accused the remarks made by Hickey about O’Brien of being merely for the sake of sensationalising news headlines, with no relevance to the current proceedings.
The affidavits of minority shareholders contain information pertaining to the inception of the Ditch website and its potential ties with the scandal involving a secret document leaked by Varadkar to his acquaintance, Dr Maitiú Ó Tuathail. In November of 2020, it was revealed that Varadkar had disclosed a confidential wage agreement with the opposing group, the Irish Medical Organisation, to the then-president of the National Association of General Practitioners prior to its official release or final approval. Voluntarily, Varadkar stated his action was “falling below the standards”, yet he did so to ensure the consensus of all GPs towards the deal, clarifying that while he and Dr Ó Tuathail were friends, they weren’t close.
In August 2020 – when Cosgrave was issuing an apology on Twitter to Ó Tuathail for remarks he made concerning Ó Tuathail, health regulations, and the Covid situation – Cosgrave was reportedly connected with Chay Bowes, a past associate of Ó Tuathail, who had possession of the text communication between Ó Tuathail and Varadkar. Kelly informs that in May 2020, Cosgrave had a two-hour telephonic dialogue with Bowes, which he documented and later shared with Kelly. In the midst of the conversation with Bowes, Cosgrave allegedly declared that with the major share of his revenue coming from globally diverse sources, he savoured a certain unrestrained liberty to express himself without significant outcome, a freedom many others did not possess.
Chay Bowes later served as a director for the Ditch (he has since stepped down and has become a contentious figure due to his internet-based backing of Russia amidst the Ukraine invasion), and two previous Web Summit workers transitioned into roles as reporters for the Ditch. Last November, following Cosgrave’s departure, the Web Summit’s governing body affirmed an immediate cessation of financial aid to the Ditch. Patronising a request from Cosgrave for an interview was not obliged.
Hickey and Cosgrave shared their early years together at Glenstal school and continued on to Trinity College as students. Hickey admired Mr Cosgrave during their time in Trinity and aspired to follow his path, later serving as president of the Philosophical Society after Cosgrave. However, their relationship has since deteriorated significantly. Mr Cosgrave is described by Hickey as extremely self-centred, manipulative, volatile, and vindictive.
The High Court is now dealing with claims by both Kelly and Hickey against Cosgrave, accusing him of operating Web Summit in a manner that tramples their shareholder rights. They collectively own about 19%, with individual shares of about 12% and 7% respectively. They desire the court to facilitate their buy-out at an appropriate price, which is why the business valuation holds significant importance.
In his affidavit, Cosgrave struggles to understand how, on one hand, he is said to have caused great damage internally and publicly in the media, and on the other hand, the claim that the business could be worth €350M, even after two years of the harshest global pandemic in the last hundred years, which took down many similar businesses. He rejects the shareholders’ accusations and counters with allegations of his own.
In his affidavit, Hickey states that Cosgrave responds to challenges with intense vitriol. Kelly, in his legal testimony, admits he may have appeared to accede to Cosgrave out of fear that any disagreement would embroil him in personal issues pursued with extreme intensity.
For his part, Cosgrave rejects these allegations, claiming that neither Hickey nor Kelly have been marginalised or their interests overlooked. He also dismisses their claims regarding their roles in the origins of the business. Furthermore, he accuses Hickey of engaging in significantly unprofessional conduct as both an employee and director of the company.
Web Summit, a leading tech conference which is set to take place in Brazil in the coming week, has its financial integrity supported largely by Portugal, contributing €8 million, and Qatar with a staggering €20 million. These countries fund the Summit for hosting conferences within their borders. Additionally, the firm generates revenue through the selling of event tickets and securing sponsoring partners. The consistent sustainability of these two revenue sources, especially in light of recent comments from Web Summit’s CEO, Paddy Cosgrave, will be closely scrutinised.
In a communique to the Web Summit team last week, Cosgrave confidently predicted, “2024 promises to be a record-breaking year for us, and by a colossal margin. There have been numerous instances where our very existence was threatened. However, miraculously, we’ve always managed to emerge victorious.”
The financial records for 2022 show Manders Terrace Ltd, the parent company of Web Summit, reported revenues of €52.5 million, a significant increase from its 2021 figure of €31.8 million, but came in with a reduced pre-tax profit of €326,489, down from €4.3 million. During the same year, the company maintained an average workforce of 239, governed by five directors (including Cosgrave). Directors’ compensation amounted to €3.6 million, with a director’s loan of €1.1 million being settled after the end of the year. In 2022, Cosgrave and his spouse, Faye Dinsmore, completed the purchase of a significant Georgian estate and associated lands in Rossnowlagh, Co Donegal, with no mortgage recorded against the property.