Former Fine Gael government minister Ivan Yates has said that he did everything he could to save Celtic Bookmakers, which went into receivership today.
Earlier, in a statement, Mr Yates and his wife Deirdre said that the company's revenue had halved over the past three years.
237 people work for the company at 47 betting shops in Ireland. It is hoped over 100 of those jobs can be saved.
Many of the shops will be sold, while others will close in the coming days. All bets will be honoured.
At its peak, Celtic Bookmakers was making an operating profit of €4m a year, but today Allied Irish Banks appointed a receiver to the company.
The firm has bank debts of around €6m, along with rents owing to landlords.
Mr Yates has said he will take a break from his broadcasting job with Newstalk for three weeks to deal with the receivership.
Mr and Mrs Yates said that today was a profoundly sad one for them and for their employees.
Celtic Bookmakers also has two shops in Wales.
