Seán Dunne, Managing Director, Mountbrook Group; Joan O’Connor, Project Manager and Ulrik Raysse, Henning Larsen Architects of the Ballsbridge hotel sites' plan, in August 2007.

Irish developer Seán Dunne today clarified remarks attributed to him in the New York Times. The paper quoted him in a report on the Irish economy in its Sunday edition, as saying that, if the banking crisis continued, "I could be considered insolvent."

In a statement today, Dunne's office said the developer had been misquoted. It said the quote given to the newspaper was:"With countries, banks in almost every country and legends of the banking world for over 100 years going bust in the current credit crunch, I would not bet against myself or anybody else being taken out. However, if it does happen, I would like to think that my conservative gearing prior to the credit crunch and the location and quality of my assets present as good a buffer as is possible."

Dunne's office also said the interview did not take place at 3am in Doheny & Nesbitt's pub in Dublin, but for 12 hours over two days.  The New York Times did not claim that the interview was only conducted in the pub.

The article on the Irish economy, focused on Dunne's plans for the hotel sites in Ballsbridge in Dublin which he purchased for €379m in 2005.

The Irish Economy’s Rise Was Steep, and the Fall Was Fast- - New York Times Jan 04, 2009
But beyond the glow of this sudden efflorescence that made Ireland the fourth most-affluent country in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, a housing bubble had begun to form. Low interest rates, a wave of inward immigration and a bank lending spree drove housing’s share of the economy to 14 percent, the highest in Europe, from 5 percent, according to research done by Finfacts, a financial Web site that analyzes the Irish economy.

Developers like Mr. Dunne became multimillionaires and — much like the hedge fund and private-equity elite in America — became visible public and cultural figures. They were living large in a country just coming to grips with its ability to show a little swagger.