Former Anglo Irish Bank boss Sean FitzPatrick said "no f***ing Protestant" was going to take over his bank, economist David McWilliams claims in his new book.

In his new book, 'Follow The Money', Mr McWilliams recounts a conversation with Mr FitzPatrick at an event in UCD last November.

The author says at the time, the word was Bank of Ireland or AIB would take over Anglo.

"This was anathema to him. Bank of Ireland was always seen as the Establishment bank, almost the Ascendancy bank. Many described it as a Church of Ireland bank, while AIB was seen as the ultimate bureaucratic bank. He railed against these big banks, claiming that Anglo did things differently," he writes.

Mr McWilliams says the conversation continued up to "a moment of truth".

"Then he came closer, squeezed my arm and practically hissed between clenched teeth: "No f***ing Protestant is coming near us. Those establishment f***ers and Bank of Ireland have been running our country before we came along, and those f***ers are not going to bring me down. None of them are ever going to look down on us again. We are the outsiders, and this is our moment. Those f***ers don't own us any more."

Source Irish Independent