in 1986 he became the head of london european flight , a business in which ryanair had bought an 85 % stake . this position , nevertheless , quickly resigned as the carrier became ryanair uk and was then merged in with ryanair . over the next centuries , cathal worked both on the executive council of the airline and as a pilot , although he resign from the latter by 1996 . he served with ryanair until entering the board 2002 , by which time he was a multi - millionaire due to the popularity of the airline .
Ryan was Cathal's father.