It was nearly over the line; a debt write-off of €70 million, the largest ever to be approved in a personal insolvency case in Ireland. Yes, the cottages in Kerry would be gone, along with the luxury apartment in the Algarve and the golfing property in Spain, status symbols of a bygone boom before the tsunami of debt struck. But for Conor Clarkson, the Dublin businessman and racehorse owner behind 2005 Cheltenham winner Kicking King, the deal would represent a clean slate, a new beginning, a means of avoiding a forced bankruptcy petition. After spending the bones of a decade…

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