Some 59% of respondents said O'Leary was a good role model, with just 29% saying he was not and 12% saying they had no opinion.

O'Leary garnered even stronger approval among those with high incomes (65%), those aged 18-24 (63%) and those living in Leinster excluding Dublin (67%).

The poll found opinion evenly split as to whether Ryanair's investment in Aer Lingus will benefit Irish consumers. Forty-three percent of respondents said it would.

An equal number said it would not.

Separately, Ryanair will not be entitled to seats on the Aer Lingus board if it fails to achieve 50.1% control of the airline, according to Dermot Mannion. The Aer Lingus boss came out swinging in a round of Friday interviews with journalists, confidently predicting that the Ryanair takeover bid would be defeated.

Mannion added, however, that his confidence was based on the reactions of investors during the IPO process. Aer Lingus management had not yet communicated directly with its shareholders about the Ryanair offer beyond its press statements, he said.

"We'll see how the story develops. If it's appropriate we'll speak to investors, " he said. "All of our shareholders are entitled to equal access to information, " he added.

Mannion also made clear that the company management had "no influence" in the deliberations of the trustees of neither the pilots' pension scheme nor the general Aer Lingus pension scheme, which is shared between employees of Aer Lingus, the Dublin Airport Authority and SR Technics ground staff.

Union sources said that Friday's Irish Times report suggesting that the general pension scheme may buy shares was inaccurate.

Pension experts warn that strict new EU rules mean that protecting workers' pension entitlements must be the overriding consideration in any investment decisions taken by scheme trustees.

Crucially, the rules state that the investments must be sufficiently diversified to avoid excessive exposure to one individual share or asset class.

According to a spokeswoman for the Pensions Board, the watchdog for all occupational schemes, the EU investment rules came into force last year. "The bottom line is whether or not a particular investment is in the best interests of members, " she said. "The Board has significant powers to act if we believe that intervention is required."

The Aer Lingus Employee Share Ownership Trust is thought to be assessing the possibility of building up a blocking share, as reported last week in this space, but sources said it may face similar restrictions to the pensions.