Declan James Ganley was born on 23 July 1968 and is an English-born Irish entrepreneur, businessman, and political activist.
32 Facts About Declan Ganley
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Declan Ganley was the founder and leader of the Irish branch of the eurosceptic Libertas Party.
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Primarily a telecommunications entrepreneur, Ganley has built businesses across the European Union, Russia and latterly, the United States.
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Declan Ganley later sold his shares to Comcast for an undisclosed sum.
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In 2013, Declan Ganley testified that Rivada's patents had the potential to "save the taxpayer hundreds of millions of dollars".
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Declan Ganley founded and sold companies in forestry and the online sector.
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Declan Ganley campaigned for a "No" vote in the 2012 Irish European Fiscal Compact referendum.
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In 2009, Declan Ganley founded and became chairman of Libertas, a political party with pan-European ambitions.
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Declan Ganley was upbeat after the defeat, describing the venture as a failed experiment.
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Declan Ganley was born in Watford, Hertfordshire, to Irish emigrant parents.
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Declan Ganley returned to Ireland with his parents to live in Glenamaddy, County Galway, at the age of 13.
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In 1996, his company Declan Ganley International founded the Anglo-Adriatic Investment Fund, an Albanian financial fund formed to collect and invest privatisation vouchers.
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Declan Ganley formed a company called Liberty Mobile that made two unsuccessful bids, in partnership with Qualcomm, to obtain mobile telecoms operator licences in Iraq from the Coalition Provisional Authority.
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Declan Ganley has investments in joint ventures with Nana Pacific, an Alaska Native Regional Corporations with special US Government contracting access.
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Declan Ganley received the Louisiana Distinguished Service Medal for his work during Hurricane Katrina, where Rivada's emergency deployable communications systems were credited by state and federal officials with dramatically improving communications between emergency response organisations, and saving countless lives.
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Declan Ganley was an advisor on "technology and terrorism" to the Club De Madrid.
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In 2008, Declan Ganley accepted the Czech Republic's Michal Tosovsky Prize on behalf of the Irish electorate.
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Declan Ganley has made occasional TV appearances and radio broadcasts in Ireland, occasionally with partner Constantin Gurdgiev.
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Declan Ganley has written about the future of mobile spectrum and bandwidth for the Sunday Independent.
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On 14 March 2013, Declan Ganley represented Rivada Networks in testimony to the US House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce, Subcommittee on Communications and Technology, for the hearing entitled "Oversight of FirstNet and Emergency Communications".
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In May 2011, Declan Ganley set up a Swiss finance fund, St Columbanus AG, along with businessmen Constantin Gurdgiev and Andrew Jamieson, which was billed as a "safe haven" for Irish funds from European banks.
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In 2024, Declan Ganley was threatened with jail time or a fine for failing to appear before a New York court in relation to payments that were to be made to David Shuman, a shareholder in Rivada Networks.
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Declan Ganley has described himself as "avowedly pro-life", and actively supports anti-abortion causes in Ireland.
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Declan Ganley was the founder and chairman of the pan-European political party Libertas, and was a candidate for Libertas in the 2009 European Parliament election in North-West Ireland.
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Declan Ganley has never provided exact details on the source of funding.
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An opinion piece published by Bruce Arnold in the Irish Independent claimed Declan Ganley was the victim of a government organised smear campaign.
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In 2020, Declan Ganley settled the case with RTE for an undisclosed sum, which he said was "substantial", and RTE issued an apology.
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On 14 March 2009, at a press interview Declan Ganley announced his candidacy for the European Parliament, for Libertas in the North-West constituency.
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Until 1 May 2009, Declan Ganley travelled all over Europe to campaign against the Lisbon Treaty, and helped local Libertas branches.
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In September 2009, Declan Ganley announced he would campaign against the second referendum to ratify the Lisbon Treaty.
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Declan Ganley took part in a televised debate, where he argued with the head of Ryanair, Michael O'Leary, who was campaigning in favour of the treaty.
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Declan Ganley served for more than two decades in the Irish Army Reserve, as a gunner with the 54th Reserve Field Artillery Regiment.