Prior to moving to the US, he completed his legal training and worked as an international

investment banker and Wall Street lawyer.

Before starting a juice bar in the south of France in 2004, he studied French at La Sorbonne in Paris during what he called a “much-needed career break.”

He initially gained national attention in this country in 2010 after being named Secretary General of the Department of Finance, where Michael Noonan, a fellow Limerick native, was the minister in charge at the time.

It was the first time the Department had been led by a non-career civil servant. He was definitely not fitting the mould.

“We think that some of the key parts of what needs to be in the Department going forward... is a culture which encourages the expression of ideas,” he stated upon his appointment.

He claimed to have come back to Ireland to assist in guiding the nation's recovery from the financial crisis and to have led it out of the bailout.

Two years later, and to many people's surprise, he quit the Department. He stated he had seen his tenure there, “as a mission with fixed purpose, not a long-term venture” in an email to workers at the time.

Mr. Noonan stated that he “with regret” accepted the resignation. Following his departure from Finance, he took positions in national, regional, and European institutions before going back to Limerick.

He said on his website that he felt the decision to select “Georgian Limerick as our future home is absolutely the right one” because of his recent cancer recovery, which had given him a newfound sense of purpose.

Growing up on a farm near Mungret, Mr. Moran claims that the experience had a tremendous impact on him and left an enduring impression.

He recently added a new string to his already extensive bow.