THE very self-effacing Raymond Coyle describes himself as a "terribly successful but stupid farmer".
Aged just 25, he'd mastered the knack of potato farming and was pocketing a million punts a year off his sprawling 800-acre farm in Bellewstown.
Back then he was commanding around 300 punts a ton for his spuds - halcyon days indeed.
But when the potato market started to drop, he didn't heed the warnings. The price fell to 250 punts, then below 200, then went south of 100 punts, and even at 50 punts a ton he still didn't get out (over a glass of the finest claret he might admit his turning point came at a paltry 16 punts a ton).
"Potato farming came naturally to me but was a bit too easy, and even while every man and this dog piled in and the market became saturated, I persevered. I was stupid," says Coyle.
The upshot, of course, was that the once-millionaire farmer was now on his uppers. It was still the 1970s but he owed more than £1.2 million to the banks, and his farm was worth a fraction of that.
Cue a famous-at-the-time (but hugely controversial) 'raffle' in which he shifted 4,000 tickets at 300 punts apiece and managed to clear his debts in one fell swoop with a few quid left over.
Coyle, however, knew the potato industry inside out and, in a modest outhouse, he started Largo Crisps with eight staff (it makes Hunky Dorys and the Irish version of Tayto crisps - not to be confused with the Co Armagh brand).
This time he wasn't so stupid, and by 2008, his millionaire status restored, he sold off Largo to Germany business giant Intersnack (he retained the option to buy more shares every few years and remained on the board).
A year later Coyle - who's a genuine breath of fresh air in the corporate world - founded Tayto Park in Co Meath, and from humble beginnings he's created a behemoth.
"Perhaps launching a theme park in the middle of a recession wasn't such a good idea. Nobody had a cent, and the people simply didn't come. It was a white elephant," he said.
But fast-forward less than a decade and Tayto Park - which opens its gates for the 2017 season today - is now among the must-see attractions on the island of Ireland.
For Coyle, this is more than something to while away his final corporate years. It's an all-consuming passion in which he has already spent €40 million and plans to plough in as much again to put it on a par with the best theme parks in Europe.
He's also looking north to boost visitor numbers. Last year a record 760,000 people paid at the gates, more than a quarter from Northern Ireland, and this year - with millions invested in new rides and attractions - the target is 800,000.
“Since we first opened our doors in November 2010, the Northern Ireland market has become increasingly important to us with almost 200,000 visitors travelling from the north last year alone. We're confident that this season will easily eclipse that,” he said.
Tayto Park (www.taytopark.ie) is investing €9 million (£7.7 million) this season, with a further €17 million (£14.7 million) already earmarked for 2018.
New attractions this year include the Viking Voyage at the Park water flume ride (it'll last nearly seven minutes) and the World of Raptors birds of prey demonstration, which will both open in the summer.
These will complement a host of existing favourites including the gravity-defying Rotator, the Power Surge and The Cú Chulainn Coaster (Ireland’s first rollercoaster and Europe’s first wooden rollercoaster with an inversion).
"From toddlers to teenagers, and whether you're nine or ninety, we'll cater for you this year, and your admission offer unlimited access to all attractions and educational aspects ranging from business to ecology and conservation," he added.
