- Neal first became interested in business as a teenager, working for the family business. He was the third generation to work in the business, a famous Irish weaving firm started in 1919 by his grand aunt and whose clients included fashion designers Coco Chanel, Guy Laroche, Balmain, and Yves St. Laurent, as well as Nancy Reagan, the Duchess of Westminster, and the Queen of Siam.

- When Neal was 16 years old he ran away from home to join the French Foreign Legion. When he couldn't find their recruitment office in Paris, he instead hitch hiked through Spain and Portugal ending up in a hippy colony in Casablanca Morocco (he was also a big fan of Humphrey Bogart movies).

- Speaking of movies, Neal's grand uncle Michael Farrell gave actress Maureen O'Hara her first movie break. The movie was called Some Say Chance and was released in Ireland in 1934. It was written, produced, and directed by Michael Farrell, and starred a 13-year-old Maureen O'Hara (then Maureen Fitzsimons), as well as her mother Rita Fitzsimmons and three of her siblings.

Michael went on to author his only book, Thy Tears Might Cease, described by the Oxford Times as "one of the greatest books of our time."