Martin Naughton - cross-border trailblazer

The late Martin Naughton occupied a space in Irish society at the intersection between business and philanthropy.

He was also a trailblazer advocating for closer cross-border trade, believing better commercial ties would deliver more peaceful relations.

He was an enormously successful entrepreneur.

His outlook on life was shaped by his background in Dundalk.

His business ventures began around the border area at a time when the Troubles were at their worst.

An engineer by profession, Mr Naughton set up Glen Electric in Newry in 1973, making electric heaters. It was the same year Britain and Ireland joined what is now the EU.

Four years later, it bought a much larger company, Dimplex, and steadily expanded under the name Glen Dimplex.

In 1979, Lochlann Quinn, a brother of former Finance Minister Ruairí Quinn, joined as finance director and deputy chairman.

The group expanded globally and now has operations in 20 countries with 8,000 staff.

Today, its activities include heating, ventilation, and consumer appliances.

I remember interviewing Mr Naughton in the 90s, and he spoke passionately about doing business on both sides of the border.

He said many entrepreneurs from the Republic were fearful of travelling North and remarked you could see their "white knuckles" as they gripped their steering wheels anxiously as they headed to Belfast.

It was no surprise he became chairman of IntertradeIreland, the cross-border body established after the Good Friday Agreement to foster trade links between the Republic and Northern Ireland.

His work outside the world of business included educational philanthropy.

In 1994, he established the Naughton Foundation with his wife, Carmel. It now funds a scholarship programme to increase support for Leaving Cert students who wanted to study engineering, maths, science and technology at third level.

His philanthropic work earned him an array of awards and honours.

He was soft-spoken but authoritative.

He was hugely wealthy and had a polished exterior, but underneath it was a sense of a man who had made his own way in the world.