Mayo businessman tells of his 'fight for justice in a greedy world'

Oliver Kelleher’s new book recalls his luck and losses, trials and tribulations

Castlebar businessman Oliver Kelleher will launch his second book, 'How I (Nearly) Became a Multi-Millionaire,' upstairs in Johnny McHale's, Newline, Castlebar, tomorrow (Thursday) at 7.30 p.m., to which everybody is invited to attend.

The book, subtitled 'Winning Battles, Losing Wars', outlines in great detail over 49 chapters his passion for work and business while at the same time enjoying and handling the pitfalls of life and relishing it.

Oliver, who made his publishing debut in 2023 with his memoir 'Stay in the Drain', tells of his personal experiences dealing with booms and busts, luck and losses, trials and tribulations, with, as he put it, 'plenty of fun and laughter along the way.'

His fascinating account reveals how he coped with the lessons learned from both success and failure in some of the businesses he set up and in which he got involved.

It's not written to get sympathy for the ups and downs he experienced in his life, but simply to "get my opinions across and get things that bug me off my chest."

The best approach to life, Oliver believes, is "to plough on regardless and hope for the best."

He elaborated: "People might say that it a reckless, haphazard approach. Maybe so, but most of us have no control over what happens to us. It can wreck your head if you keep thinking what you have or don't have because your circumstances can change fast in life."

Oliver admitted, perhaps in reference to the book's title, that he never knew how much he was worth or not worth.

"I still don't know. Most of the time it was the taxman who put a figure on that and, as far as I was concerned, he was often wrong. At one stage of my life I knew what I was not worth because at the time I could easily have lived on the interest of the money I was owed," he revealed.

He writes about his 'fight for justice in a greedy world, thinking you are winning battles but losing the wars'.

The book is full of serious observations, opinions and great ideas and many situations that will make you think hard about life and what really creates wealth and happiness.

Oliver, now very much into trading stocks and shares, said he was always prepared to take the blows, forget the regrets and leave the past behind "because there is no future in the past."

His secret to success in business is not rocket science, he stated.

"It's about following three simple things you seldom learn in university: Bringing in customers, looking after your customers and bringing customers back.

"If you fail at any of these, you will fail at all of them and your business will probably fail too. Regardless of what new technology comes along, good personal service will never go out of fashion."

A wonderful insight of one man's life experience, the book goes on sale at local outlets from next weekend.