7. Michael Fingleton Managing director, Irish Nationwide) Salary: /1.84m 8. Sir Anthony O'Reilly Chief executive, Independent News & Media Salary: /1.82m One of Ireland's most successful businessmen of the past 30 years, O'Reilly found early fame as a rugby player, winning 28 caps for Ireland between 1955 and 1963 before moving into business, developing the Kerrygold brand for the Irish Dairy Board.

Despite a successful stint leading international food giant Heinz, O'Reilly remains best known in Ireland as the chief executive of Independent News & Media (IN&M), the country's leading newspaper group, which holds a 29.9% stake in this newspaper. O'Reilly, who also founded the Ireland Fund in 1976, remains a prominent figure, particularly due to businessman Denis O'Brien's apparent attempts to gain control of IN&M.

9. David Went Former chief executive, Irish Life & Permanent Salary: /1.56m Went, who retired as chief executive as Irish Life & Permanent earlier this year, spent most of his career with the Natwest Group, rising to chief executive of Ulster Bank from 1988 to 1994 and chief executive of Coutts Group before he joined Irish Life in 1998. After Irish Life's mergers with Irish Permanent in 1999 and TSB in 2001, Went became head of a combined group which has experienced significant success in recent years. This can be best seen by the final set of results delivered by Went before his retirement, which saw a rise in pro"ts from 420m to 529m and a 12.4% in the dividend paid to shareholders.

10. Jim Flavin Executive chairman, DCC Salary: /1.52m Despite being found guilty by the Supreme Court of breaching the insider trading laws in July at the end of a marathon court battle between DCC and Fyffes, Flavin has retained the backing of the rest of the DCC board even though it could ultimately be fined up to 50m.

Flavin, a suave former banker, established DCC in 1976 and has built it into a conglomerate with interests in the energy, IT, healthcare and environmental industries with annual revenues of 4bn. He is also known, like many Irish businessmen who emerged during the 1970s, for his strong survival abilities and it seems that despite the Supreme Court judgment, he will continue to guide DCC's fortunes for the foreseeable future.

11. Maurice Pratt Chief executive, C&C Group Salary: /1.41m Still best known to the general public as the smiling marketing manager who personally fronted advertisements for supermarket chain Quinnsworth in the 1980s and 1990s, Pratt had has a grim couple of months with drinks group C&C, which he joined in 2002 from Tesco Ireland, which had bought Quinnsworth in 1997.

The company has issued three profit warnings in recent months as sales of its flagship product, Magner's cider, have slid due to poor summer weather and increased competition in Britain. Possibly the most embarrassing aspect of the whole affair for Pratt, however, may have been when his alma mater, Tesco, began to sell cut-price Magner's in Ireland in a bid to clear unsold British stock.

12. Richard Hayes Retired chief executive, IFG Salary: /1.36m The founder of the IFG Group, one of Ireland's largest financial services companies, Richard Hayes received 1.1m from the company after his retirement in an once-off pension contribution and a termination payment. This made him the company's top earner for 2006 even though he resigned as chief executive in March 2006, just before an appearance at the Mahon tribunal. Hayes told reporters at the time, however, that his decision had "absolutely no connection" with his appearance there.

13. Kelly Martin Chief executive, Elan Salary: /1.26m Martin, a former executive with global financial giant Merrill Lynch, took control of pharmaceutical group Elan in 2003 when the company was on its knees after a "nancial crisis sparked by "aggressive" accounting policies, which left it with 3.15bn worth of debt and shares that had lost 96% of their value but without a chief executive.

Despite having no experience in pharmaceuticals and despite a second share collapse in 2005, Martin seems to have put Elan on a solid footing after restructuring the company, even though it is still not expected to become pro"table again until 2009.

14. Patrick Kennedy Chief executive, Paddy Power Salary: /1.25m One of the greatest Irish business success stories of the past 20 years, Paddy Power was born out of the merger of three small bookmakers in 1988, eventually becoming Ireland's largest bookmaker. Since 2006, its fortunes have been guided by former Greencore executive Kennedy, who also previously worked with KPMG Corporate Finance.

The company is known for its strong sense of humour; on his appointment, Kennedy joked: "As a long time unsuccessful punter, it will now be a pleasure to reverse roles".

15. Owen Killian Chief executive, IAWS Group Salary: /1.18m Killian has been with IAWS since its flotation in 1988, when it was spun off from the Irish Agricultural Wholesale Society Co-Op, which itself eventually became One51 in 2005. The company is best known for its Cuisine de France bread range;

Killian played a crucial role in helping the company's food businesses grow in the late 1990s. After a brief twoyear spell as head of food, Killian "nally got the top job in 2003 and has overseen a 55% growth in the firm's revenues over that time.

16. Cathal O Caoimh Chief financial officer, Horizon Technology Salary: /1.16m O Caoimh, who joined Horizon in 2001, is surprisingly the IT company's highest-paid executive, earning more than chairman Samir Naji and chief executive Gary Coburn combined in 2006. Although this was due largely to a once-off 762,000 payment made under a long-term incentive plan, "gures from 2005 reveal that O Caoimh earned more than his two superiors.

O Caoimh started his executive career as managing director of this newspaper before moving on to Independent News & Media and then Hibernian Ireland, where he was group finance director for four years.

17. Barry O'Connor Managing director, McInerney Holdings Salary: /1.12m O'Connor has been the subject of intense speculation over the past couple of weeks that he may lead a management buyout of housebuilder McInerney, where he has been managing director since 1994. The rumours have been fuelled by the suggestion that O'Connor, who holds 5% of the company's stock, believes it may be undervalued, given his bullish view of the British housing market.

Outside of McInerney, O'Connor is also a director of Mater and Children's Hospitals Development, which has been working on the redevelopment of Dublin's Mater hospital since 1999.

18. Brendan Murtagh Head of corporate development, Kingspan Salary: /1.11m Murtagh founded insulation and building materials giant Kingspan with his brother Eugene in 1972 and has had a colourful business career since then, due partly to his willingness to chat and take risks.

Murtagh hit the headlines as the man who was writing the monthly cheques that kept ailing Smart Telecom float, before he finally took the company over in October 2006.

Another high-profile incident saw the girlfriend and wife of his two sons purchase shares in a British firm on which Kingspan was conducting due diligence.

Murtagh told a subsequent London Stock Exchange investigation that he may have inadvertently passed confidential information to his sons, before stepping down from Kingspan's board for two years.

19. Hugh Friel Chief executive, Kerry Group Salary: /1.07m Currently counting the days until his retirement at the end of this year, Friel has presided over a 60% increase in profits at Kerry Group, Ireland's largest food group. Friel has been with the company almost from the start: he became its tenth employee in 1972.

The business has grown considerably since then and it now has an annual turnover of over 4bn after five years of steady growth under Friel, a qualified accountant who previously worked for Aer Lingus and Mobil Oil.

20. David Dilger Chief executive, Greencore Salary: /1.03m Known as a straight talker, Dilger reportedly once angrily demanded . . . and obtained . . . a de"nitive assurance from Jim Barry of NTR that the company had no interest in the disused Mallow sugar factory after a month of inconclusive discussions over the possibility of producing biodiesel there.

Dilger joined Greencore after the remarkable rescue of Food Industries in the aftermath of the collapse of Goodman International, which held 67.2% of the company.

After restoring the company's credit lines, Dilger eventually persuaded Greencore to take it over.

Dilger will certainly need to get stuck in again to ward off property developer Liam O'Carroll, who has a 29.5% stake in the firm and seems interested in separating Greencore from its property portfolio.

21. Jim Barry Chief executive, NTR Salary: /1.026m Since becoming chief executive in 2000, Barry has presided over an extraordinary diversification of NTR's activities, helping to develop a series of modest investments in renewable energy and the waste industry into Airtricity and Greenstar. The company also invested in Irish Broadband and, more recently, launched Bioverda, a biodiesel company, in 2006.

There's now speculation that Barry's next task may be the stock market flotation of all or part of the group after comments to investors that the company needed a "liquidity event" by 2009.

22. Michael Chadwick Executive chairman, Grafton Group Salary: /1.01m A veteran executive, Chadwick joined the board of Grafton Group, which owns builders' merchants across Britain and Ireland, in 1979 and took his current post in 1985.

Like all firms involved in construction, Grafton has experienced strong growth in recent years as a result of the Irish housing boom and the explosion of interest in DIY. Its revenue now stands at 1.6bn and Chadwick is confident of increasing this in the future.

23. Eamon Rothwell Chief executive, ICG Salary: /1m Rothwell has never been far from the headlines recently as a seemingly endless takeover battle rages over ICG, best known as the owner of Irish Ferries. Rothwell, who joined the company in 1987, is "ghting property developer Liam Carroll and Philip Lynch's One51 for ownership of the business.

Rothwell is used to drawn-out battles as a veteran of one of the most bitter industrial relations disputes in recent Irish history, the Irish Ferries dispute, which left its vessels in Irish and Welsh Ports for three weeks. The company did, however, eventually get the green light to outsource its crews.

24. Michael O'Leary Chief executive, Ryanair Salary: /992,000 One of Ireland's most outspoken executives, O'Leary has often railed against business "fatcats". Asked whether his 992,000 salary made him one of these, O'Leary replied: "At the moment, I think I'm quite a slim cat, given that I generally fly Ryanair on short-haul. Unfortunately, I do own up to being a fatcat swanning about in business class on long-haul flights. . . I hope for a number of years yet to remain a slim cat but my wife thinks I'm getting a bit fat. I put it down to marriage, for which I'm going to be killed tomorrow."

25. Dermot Mannion Chief executive, Aer Lingus Salary: /982,000 A former executive with MiddleEastern airline Emirates, Mannion scored a notable victory last week when he managed to agree a deal with Aer Lingus pilots over the airline's new Belfast base. He has made little progress in securing union backing for his cost-cutting plan, PCI, which he has assured investors will be implemented by 1 January. If it isn't, his position may rapidly become untenable.

26. Charles Gallagher Executive chairman, Abbey Salary: /967,000 A director of homebuilder Abbey since 1986, Gallagher has been executive chairman since 1993. The company has benfi"ted significantly from the Irish housing boom and made a profit of 45m last year.

Gallagher, however, is concerned about the risk of a downturn in the Irish housing market and has warned shareholders that this year there will be "some choppy trading as the market finds an appropriate level in the aftermath of the exuberance of last year".

27. Philip Fitzsimons Chief executive, FBD Insurance Salary: /962,000 Fitzsimons has spent over 35 years with FBD, one of the country's largest insurance companies, having joined as a management account in 1971.

After spells as assistant general manager for marketing and executive director for development, he eventually became deputy chief executive in 1996 and chief executive seven years later.

28. Aidan Heavey Chief executive, Tullow Oil Salary: /929,777 Despite being an accountant by trade, Heavey has carved out an extraordinary career in the oil business since starting Tullow in 1986. Recent years have been particularly successful for Heavey.

He won the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year award in 2005 and then starred in an RTE documentary on Tullow's corporate responsibility work in Africa. More recently, Tullow has just been admitted to the FTSE 100 after its share price rocketed following a signi"cant oil discovery in Ghana.

29. John Moloney Chief executive, Glanbia Salary: /927,000 Moloney, who became Glanbia chief executive in 2001, has been with the food group since 1987, having previous worked with the Department of Agriculture. In his time at Glanbia he has held several senior management jobs including chief executive of its food ingredients division. When he became CEO, the company was in the doldrums, with a share price that had fallen by 60% in 12 months, but he has turned the business around and it experienced strong double-digit growth in the "rst half of this year.

30. David McCann Chief executive, Fyffes Salary: /801,000 A member of the McCann dynasty that controls Fyffes, Blackrock and Total Produce, David remained with Fyffes after the other businesses were spun off. He joined the firm in 1986, having previously worked as a solicitor. He became its chief executive in 1995 and now faces the task of running what remains of the business: its tropical fruit distribution operation, which has a turnover of over 400m.

31. Dr John Climax Executive chairman, Icon Salary: /788,443 A founder of Icon, a clinical research company, Climax was chief executive of the company from 1990 until 2002 when he became executive chairman. Trained in Singapore, Wales and Ireland, Climax has over 25 years of experience in the research industry and holds an adjunct professorship at the Royal College of Surgeons of Ireland as well as a doctorate in pharmacology.

32. Ted McGovern Managing director, EBS Salary: /759,700 McGovern left EBS earlier this summer over a bitter boardroom struggle involving non-executive director Ethna Tinney, when the board decided not to support her reelection at its AGM in April. Tinney claimed the decision was fuelled by her complaints about executive pay, which put the spotlight "rmly on McGovern. After Tinney was defeated, McGovern, who has over 20 years' experience in banking with EBS and Bank of Ireland, decided to move on to seek new challenges.

= 33. John Foley Chief executive, Waterford Wedgewood Salary: /695,000 Although the company is heavily associated with its chairman, Tony O'Reilly, the less high-profile Foley is actually responsible for the day-today running of the business and carrying out its restructuring programme. As a result of this restructuring, Foley managed to cut the company's operating loss by almost 80% during 2006.

Foley is also active in Irish soccer and was appointed earlier this year to the FAI's National League Executive Committee.

= 33. Liam Fitzgerald Chief executive, United Drug Salary: /695,000 Fitzgerald started his career as a graduate at the Smurfit Group before joining drug wholesaler United Drug in 1993 with responsibility for its contract distribution outsourcing business.

He became chief executive in 2000 and now presides over a business with an annual turnover of 1.4bn.

Although in Ireland the company is involved in a spat with the HSE over drug margins, Fitzgerald continues to grow the firm internationally: last week it bought US pharmaceutical sales and marketing company Alliance Heathcare Information.

35. Rick Stewart Chief executive, Amarin Salary: /688,800 Dublin-listed pharmaceutical company Amarin conducts research into treatments for heart diseases and neurological disorders and its board contains several former executives of Elan, including Thomas Lynch, who sits on the board of the IDA. Despite this, Amarin has only a token presence in Ireland and its chief executive is a British former investment banker who was brought into the company by Elan in 1998. He became chief executive in 2000.

= 36. Declan Collier Chief executive, Dublin Airport Authority Salary: /688,000 The highest-paid semi-state executive is somewhat surprisingly the man tasked with breaking up the old Aer Rianta airports group and making Dublin, Cork and Shannon airports separate, commercially viable entities. The former head of ExxonMobile's alternative fuels & district heating division, Collier has had a rocky time since becoming DAA chief executive in 2005, with wrangles over Cork airport's debts and Aer Lingus' decision to end its Shannon-Heathrow route blocking the swift completion of his mission.

= 36. Carl McCann Chairman, Total Produce Salary: / 668,000 Spun off, like Blackrock International Land, from fruit distributor Fyffes, Total Produce now owns Fyffes' former produce and distribution businesses. Like Blackrock and Fyffes, it is essentially controlled by the McCann family and continues to have close links with the two other companies. This can best by seen by former Fyffes executive chairman Carl McCann's roles as chairman of Total Produce and executive chairman of Blackrock, which caused him difficulties earlier this year when the two companies entered into a joint venture to buy 25m worth of land in Dublin from Balkan, a company controlled by his father Neil. McCann absented himself from discussions about the deal between the three parties, which took nine months to conclude.

38. Ian Scott-Gall Chief executive, Vislink Salary: /631,518 Vislink specialises in providing hightech video and data links and its equipment has helped broadcast events such as the 2006 World Cup final around the world. It started life in the 1950s, however, as Silvermines, an Irish mining company. Since 1999, Scott-Gall has been instrumental in turning Silvermines into Vislink, which had sales of over 140m last year.

39. Ronan O Cuiv Chairman & chief executive, Trinity Biotech Salary: /597,800 develops medical diagnostic kits, O Cuiv has been chief executive since 1994. Although his background is in accountancy, he has grown the company so that it sells its products in over 80 countries and has annual revenues of over 80m.

40. Peter Zotto Chief executive, Iona Technology Salary: /592,550 Zotto, who attended Harvard Business School, held top executive positions at IT giants Digital and Compaq, before becoming chief executive of Irish business IT specialist Iona in 2003. Iona counts Nasa, Boeing and Vodafone among its clients and had worldwide revenues of over 50m last year.

41. John McCann Chief executive, UTV Salary: /584,483 Another long-serving executive, McCann joined UTV, owner of ITV's Northern Irish franchise, in 1983 as a "nancial controller and worked his way up to become chief executive in 1999. He has presided over the rapid diversi"cation of UTV's activities; the company was one of the underbidders in the battle for Emap's Irish radio stations, including Today FM, last summer.

42. Michael Carvill Managing director, Kenmare Salary: /532,000 Even though he has been in the job since 1986, it is unlikely that Carvill, a former engineer at Tara Mines, was prepared for the past three months, where Kenmare has been in the headlines for all the wrong reasons.

Carvill's woes stem from a strange incident in May when fellow board member Donal Kinsella repeatedly appeared naked at the door of company secretary Deirdre Corcoran on a business trip to Africa.

Kinsella claims he was sleepwalking and his attempts to prevent the board removing him from the company have overshadowed Kenmare's other activities.

43. Padraig McManus Chief executive, ESB Salary: /495,227 McManus has spent almost his entire professional life at the ESB; he joined the company's international division in 1973 and became chief executive in 2002. Since then, he has steered the company through some turbulent times caused by the liberalisation of the electricity market. McManus' job is not without its joys though: two weeks ago, he watched as the sod was turned on the ESB's new 400m power plant in Aghada, Co Cork.

44. John Craven Chief executive, Petroceltic Salary: /482,697 A co-founder of Petroceltic, which has exploration interests in north Africa and Italy, Craven has come under increasing pressure from retail investors in recent months due to its failure to finalise a major joint venture in Algeria. At its recent AGM, one angry shareholder told the board to "just get on with it and bloody do it". However, Craven, a seasoned campaigner with a 30year track record in exploration, retains the support of institutional shareholders and is likely to ride out the storm.

45. Robert Knox Managing director, Blackrock International Land Salary: /466,969 A spin-off company from fruit distributor Fyffes, property investor Blackrock International Land has made considerable progress since its foundation last year under the leadership of Knox, who had previously been in charge of Fyffes' property activities since 1992.

The company's most recent deal came last week when it bought a 50% stake in 300 acres of farmland near Edinburgh, which it hopes to develop as the city expands.

46. Brendan Drumm Chief executive, HSE Salary: /453,000 Drumm has been a controversial figure since being appointed as the Health Service Executive's "rst chief executive in 2005 with a mandate to reform the country's public health services. Accused by his opponents of being out of touch with patient care issues, he is currently battling both pharmacists and drug wholesalers on the issue of drug price margins.

47. Ian Ireland Managing director, Donegal Creameries Salary: /436,472 A former Kerry Group executive, Ireland became managing director of Donegal Creameries, a relatively low-key agribusiness and food company, in 2004, after 20 years' experience in the food industry.

48. Ann Heraty Chief executive, CPL Resources Salary: /413,000 Heraty, the only woman on our list, founded CPL Resources in 1989 and has grown it into one of the largest recruitment firms in the country, counting Microsoft, Eircom and Sage among its clients. The company specialises in temporary and contract recruitment, "lling around 20,000 such vacancies each year.

49. Tony O'Reilly Jnr Chief executive, Providence Salary: /395,000 Tony O'Reilly's Snr's youngest child is a leading executive in the Irish oil exploration industry with Providence Resources, which recently made a significant oil find near Hook Head off the coast of Wexford, which could potentially yield up to 70 million barrels of oil.

50. Hugh McCullough Chief executive, Glencar Mining Salary: /388,804 McCullough has been managing director of Glencar Mining since 1982 and is a man of many talents, being not only a professional geologist but a barrister as well.

Glencar specialises in exploring for gold in West Africa and made several notable discoveries in Ghana in the 1980s and '90s.