By Kathy McGee Burns

Michael G. O’Neill, founder and CEO of Preferred Unlimited, Inc., is the Delaware Valley Irish Hall of Fame’s corporate honoree this year. He is young, talented, enthusiastic and driven to be the best he can be. He is a modern man surrounded by beautiful old treasures. A visit to his office would delight and astonish you. The ceilings are very high with spiral ducts running under them. The back portion of the bar taken from an antique Irish pub, which is made of pressed tin, is a magnificent frame for the reception area. The hallways seemed to wind along outlined by handsomely carved columns and ornate medallions.

Michael O'Neill

Throughout the space it seems to be eclectic décor made from salvaged treasures. When you first enter through very tall glass doors, there is a banner which is full of single words used to describe the heartbeat of his company; words like "passionate,"  "daring," "artistic," "adaptive," "bodacious," "fluid," "visionary," "gutsy," "effective," and so on.

Mike is the son of Frank and Peggy (Wolfington) O’Neill. The paternal family roots are Coalisland, County Tyrone, and he is a direct descendant of the High Kings of Ireland. He attended Our Lady of Lourdes School in Overbrook, Villanova University and Temple Law School. Mike O’Neill is married to Jeannie Doyle and they have five children, Jeannie, Jacqueline, Michael, Ryan and Lauren. With the O’Neills, family is a top priority.

While I was interviewing him, I noticed a misshapen brick on his bookshelf. He proudly showed it to me while describing a trip he had taken 10 or 12 years ago, a reunion of sorts, back to Ireland. He discovered a pile of bricks which once had been the one-room cottage of a tenant farmer, Bernard O’Neill and his wife, Mary. They had seven children and, in 1865, two of them, Frances and Michael, ventured off to America. One by one, they brought over the remaining family, Mom and Dad and all. They lived on North 3rd Street, St. Michael’s Parish.

The O’Neill brothers worked at a cotton/wool waste plant, where they would sweep up the remnants each night, take them home and make rags to sell. Thus was the start of the O’Neill dynasty. In the 1920s, they went back to Ireland and bought up all of the O’Neill property so that it would not fall into Protestant hands. They entrusted the local bishop to carry out this job but as soon as they left, he sold it to the Protestants.

When Michael O’Neill first established Preferred Unlimited, he was forced to consider properties no one else wanted; old manufacturing sites, obsolete facilities, and impoverished neighborhoods. As the saying goes, “When given lemons, make lemonade.” That’s what O’Neill did and basically, established a unique niche for his company. His company currently owns property across the eastern seaboard worth more than $1.5 billion.

Michael and Jeannie O’Neill work on many projects together. They have a great respect for Catholic Schools and the positive impact that they have on the city. He is chairman of BLOCS (Business Leadership Organized for Catholic Schools). The company also runs the Preferred Neighborhood Improvement Program which includes the clean up of vacant lots, pro bono counsel to community residents and home improvement grants.

Mike was one of the many chapters in the successful story of the Irish Memorial. He saw the impasse the group had reached with the project. The Memorial was finished. Jim Coyne, the president, and his committee, had literally spent years, raising nickels and dimes to fulfill this dream. They needed a fundraiser. There was no way to get it to Philadelphia and no where to put it. O’Neill offered his building in Chester, even though it was in a raw state.

At a record pace and with a great deal of personal expense, Michael O’Neill transformed the stark, cold building into a softly lit, tree-lined stone mansion. That evening raised $500,000 for the well-deserved group and gave them a needed boost.

Michael O’Neill’s official bio says it all, “So if your cell phone rings at 6 a.m., no need to wonder who it is—it’s MO on the line with THE NEXT BIG THING.

Links

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