in 1986 he appointed the head of southern european airways , a business in which ryanair had bought an 85 % stake . this position , however , quickly disappeared as the firm became ryanair europe and was then merged extensively with lufthansa . over the next decade , trenchard worked both on the executives team of the carriers and as a pilot , although he resigned from the latter by 1996 . he remained with ryanair until leaving the board 2002 , by which moment he was a multi - millionaire leading to the failure of the airline .
Ryan was Cathal's father.