Celebrity Investment Contest Winner Announced!

For the months of November, December, and January, The Business has been running a Celebrity Investment Contest, with the help of Delta Index. Three Irish celebrities - with no investment experience - were each given an imaginary EUR20,000 to invest as they liked. At the end of January, the contestant whose portfolio was worth most was given EUR5,000 in real money for a charity of their choice.

Celebrity Investment Contest Winner Announced!

Investment novice, Shane Byrne, has beaten RTÉ Newsreader, Anne Doyle, and Fr. Brian D'arcy to win the Celebrity Investment Contest on RTÉ Radio 1's The Business (Saturdays, 10 - 11am, RTÉ Radio 1). The win was announced live on the programme on Saturday 30 January and Shane presented his prize - a cheque for €5,000 from contest sponsors, trading website Delta Index - to Miriam McGrath of his chosen charity, The Wicklow Hospice.

* Shane Byrne traded gold, platinum and copper and finished in 1st place, with his portfolio reaching a staggering [imaginary] €73,777.50, yielding a return of 268% in his three month run.

* Fr. Brian D'arcy's chosen speciality was the Sterling/Dollar exchange rate, and he finished with an account balance of [an imaginary] €72,059, a massive 260% return in three months

* Anne Doyle invested in equities: making a loss on a McDonald's trade and a gain on a CRH trade. She managed to make [an imaginary] €8,000 profit on her initial €20,000 investment.

Over 500 listeners to The Business also took part in a parallel listener competition to win a €1,000 euro investment account at trading website Delta Index. The eventual winner was Leitrim-based web designer, Neil Dawson, who turned his initial €20,000 into nearly ½ million, or €454,421 to be exact.

About the contestants

Shane Byrne From Wicklow, a star of the Irish Triple Crown winning side of 2004, he won 41 rugby caps for Ireland. In 2005 he was a member of Lions tour to New Zealand and, nowadays, he runs an environmental services company in Aughrim, Co. Wicklow.

Brian D'arcy From Fermanagh, a noted author, newspaper columnist, radio presenter... and also the country's best-loved priest.

Anne Doyle From Wexford, one of the most familiar faces on Irish television - indeed one of the best loved presenters the country's had.