Tony Quinn… and prayers for cash

[David]

Was looking at one of the papers yesterday.. Independent ‘weekend review’… and thought, it might be worth sharing the story about a guy called ‘Tony Quinn’… also known as: ‘The Mucky Messiah’ (Sunday World).

It dosn't seem to be on sott and search of ‘Tony Quinn’, yielded nothing. Couldent find a link to this article, so will post some quotes and links to other articles below.

Caption, ‘Tony Quinn: his young lover Eve, his massive fortune and the prayers for cash’. By Kim Bielenberg

Tony Quinn’s devout Irish followers, some of whom believe he is the reincarnation of Jesus Christ are following with intense interest a court case in the Caribbean.
He was given a shareholding in an exploration company there after some directors believed his mind-bending techniques helped them hit oil. Now a former director accuses them and him of mismanaging the company.
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His disciples, some of whom kiss his feet in rapt adoration, have been praying that he wins the case. They are sure he will because they believe he is here to save the world.
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“He did everything to make you think he was Jesus” says former follower Maire Lawler. “Many believed it”
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Nowadays, Quinn promotes himself as a business guru, who has been known to charge up to 36,500 per head for his mind-coaching seminars.
He promises to help his clients, who have included senior figures from business such as the bookmaking tycoon John Boyle, to reprogram the “hard drive” of their minds.
In an interview on his website, where he is pictured next to a yacht, Quinn says, “Bill Gates transformed the world through computers. My vision is to transform the world through mind technology”.
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Oil is just one part of a multinational spiritual conglomerate, which includes Educo seminars, health shops and paid for prayers.

Jesus!

…. he is also being sued in the Dublin high court in a civil action by Lalor, his former follower, for alleged sexual assault, battery and fraudulent misrepresentation.

Appearing in the Caribbean court case about the oil company in the past few days, Quinn accused her of blackmail. He told the court Lawlor had been a good friend for 20 years, but had turned against him and threatened to start a negative campaign unless he paid her off.
Lawler strenuously denied these allegations when contacted by the Irish Independent this week.
She first came across Quinn in 1982 after she met one of his followers in a nightclub in Malahide. Quinn was already a household name in Dublin with his own brand of yoga and he led a number of communes.
The late journalist June Levine described Quinn’s early guru status after she visited a commune in 1974:”They adore Tony and believe they are reincarnated with him from past lives at the time of Christ.”
When Lawler first became involved with the Quinn outfit, he was a hands on healer. He would touch devotees and give them a blast of energy, likening the effect to giving a charge to the battery of a car.
“Some people there would jump around, fall off their chairs or flap about on the floor,” she said. “He had a mesmerising effect. He might tap me on the back of the head, and I would fall to the ground in a trance”. At one stage, Quinn asked Lawler to kiss his feet and she is embarrassed to admit that she did.
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OMG!

Ralph McCutcheon, an osteopath from Co. Down, flew to the Bahamas for one of the events. He describes Quinn as a master of stagecraft.
“Someone else would do a presentation, and then suddenly Quinn would arrive, appearing from the back of a limo, with a fanfare. It was like Tom Jones appearing on stage.
“Then he would talk a load of nonsense for hours until you became bored and disoriented.”
The bookmaker John Boyle of Boylesports has been so impressed with Quinn’s teachings that his employees now do courses given by a long-time associate of the guru, Georgina Dolan.
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The courses were recently highlighted by Mike Garde, of the cultbusting organisation Dialogue Ireland, which has followed Quinn’s spiritual movement closely.
“He has gone from being a Yogi master and Jesus figure promoting a kind of alternative semi-catholicism to being the leader of an economic cult”, he said.
From his beginnings as a butcher’s apprentice in Arbour Hill to his sun-soaked nirvana in the Bahamas, Quinn has proved himself to be a remarkably resilient figure.
But a growing number of his former devotees are now prepared to speak out and it remains to be seen if he can keep the money pouring in for much longer.

Other articles
‘Controversy continues as Tony Quinn seminar hit by protests’
_http://www.independent.ie/national-news/controversy-continues-as-tony-quinn-seminar-hit-by-protests-1598781.html

‘Lifestyle guru Quinn ordered to testify in multi-million US lawsuit’
_http://www.independent.ie/national-news/lifestyle-guru-quinn-ordered-to-testify-in-multimillion-us-lawsuit-2981505.html

‘Shocked Tony Quinn blasts RTE radio campaign as a 'witch-hunt'
_http://www.independent.ie/national-news/shocked-tony-quinn-blasts-rte-radio-campaign-as-a-witchhunt-1605919.html

 

[David]

From Dialogue Ireland “Information about Tony Quinn, Yoga and Educo and more:
_http://dialogueireland.wordpress.com/2009/01/18/the-tony-quinn-story-%E2%80%9Cfrom-butcher-to-oil-slick%E2%80%9D/

A compilation of many contributions: Dialogue Ireland is in contact with the various authors of this document but for reasons of confidentiality their names are withheld. The information has been provided by people who have knowledge from their own experience of the workings of the Tony Quinn’s group over many years. It contains reports by ex- members and their families, as well as investigations by journalists, health professionals and others. It first surfaced in 2001 at our Conference, and we waited 6 years to publish it after confirming the information. We do not take responsibility for the use made of this document by others, nor do we object to them doing so. Any new evidence will be added, but treated in the strictest confidence.

Background – TQ was an only child, appearing to have been ‘worshipped’ and totally spoiled by both his parents. From early age entertained grandiose ambitions which were not realisable in the normal world owing to his inability to obtain professional qualifications, or indeed any qualifications, or to have original creative ideas which would be commercially successfully in the real world. Some of his close relations had links with the criminal underworld. Here is his own web site’s attempt at a biography: _http://www.tonyquinn.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=15&Itemid=28

His main driving force psychologically appears to be absolute necessity of being a ‘big shot’. ‘Occult’ or ‘spiritual’ fields provided virtually only route to this as no financial investment is needed, or professional qualifications, and it is possible to create a closed sub-world in which he can be the biggest fish in a small pond. Still entertains grandiose ambitions and an overinflated view of his abilities, he seeks world domination with his work, which border on the psychotic at times but are counterbalanced by fanatical focus on his material interests.

TQ has greatly exaggerated ideas about his own abilities especially the huge psychic powers he claims. His publicity literature during his career for over thirty years (see website for further details) show see-sawing between extreme ‘occult’ claims and masking these by pretending to be a normal businessman promoting healthy eating and positive thinking. Over the last decade he has added on being a “success” coach using his “Educo” system discussed later in this document.

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Something for sott…. Or one for the data banks…