Five weeks ago, on March 15, Mike Ashley’s top Irish executives gathered remotely to sign off on the 2019 financial statements for the British retail billionaire’s main Irish operation. Having first entered Ireland 18 years ago, Ashley, a divisive figure in British business, has steadily accumulated a network of 30-plus Irish stores, most of which trade under the Sports Direct or Heatons brand. More recently, he acquired the House of Fraser department store in Dundrum. In the UK, Ashley, the owner of Newcastle United Football Club, is loudly attempting to create the “Harrods of the high street” or the “Selfridges…

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