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The Ireland Funds are a global fundraising network for people of Irish ancestry and friends of Ireland, dedicated to raising funds to support programs of peace and reconciliation, arts and culture, education and community development throughout the island of Ireland. The Funds exist in 12 countries around the world, the largest member of the network being The American Ireland Fund,^[1] and, after Atlantic Philanthropies, may be the second largest non-governmental donor to Irish causes. The co-founder and for many years global chairman of The Ireland Funds, was businessman Tony O'Reilly. The funds have raised over $550 million for worthy causes in Ireland and around the world.^[1]^[when?]

History

The Ireland Fund

In 1976, Dr. Anthony J.F. O'Reilly (Sir Tony O'Reilly), former CEO of H.J. Heinz Co. (as well as a former Ireland rugby union player), created The Ireland Fund with friend and fellow Pittsburgh businessman Dan Rooney,^[2] owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers football team, who later served as the United States Ambassador to Ireland. With three goals, "Peace, Culture and Charity", The Ireland Fund appealed for support for Ireland and its people from all Americans, especially those of Irish descent. Rooney himself stated it was established to counter the prominent militant NORAID (Irish Northern Aid Committee), which was routinely accused of using donations to purchase weapons for the IRA. He stated it wasn't easy at first to persuade the American public already outraged at IRA atrocities to donate to the Funds: "[W]e often had to explain that we were not raising money for bombs."^[3]

The American Irish Foundation and merger

During his visit to Ireland in 1963, United States President John F. Kennedy joined with Irish President Éamon de Valera to form The American Irish Foundation, with a mission to foster connections between Americans of Irish descent and the country of their ancestry.^{[citation needed]}

On St. Patrick's Day 1987, The Ireland Fund and the American Irish Foundation, then led by Arthur William Bourn Vincent,^[4] merged at a White House ceremony to form The American Ireland Fund.^[5]

Fundraising

In 1988, O' Reily declared to The New York Times that the Ireland Fund was raising $4 million per year.^[6] By July 1993, the group was raising $6 million annually, holding 24 events in 12 American cities.^[7] This amount was in stark contrast to NORAID's $3.6 million donations from 1970 to 1998 and equal to the IRA's annual $2-10 million derived from criminal and legitimate activities across Ireland in the 1970s-1990s.^[8]^[9]^[10]^[11]^[12]

Chapters of The American Ireland Fund

The Ireland Funds, through The American Ireland Fund, formed a network of fundraising chapters in additional cities across the United States as including Boston, Chicago, Palm Beach, New York City, Dallas, Denver, San Francisco, San Diego, Philadelphia, New Jersey and Washington D.C.^[1]

International chapters

In parallel with expansion within the USA, Ireland Funds were established in a range of countries, from Ireland itself to Canada (launched 1978), Australia (launched 1987), Great Britain (1988), France (1990), New Zealand (1992), Germany (1993), Japan (1993), Monaco (1998), China (1998) and Singapore (2009).^[1]

Global headquarters

Shared world headquarters for The Ireland Funds were opened in Boston in 1994.

Today

With over 100 events annually in 40 cities around the world, attended by 40,000 people, and raising over $550 million since 1976,^[1] The Ireland Funds is one of the largest non-governmental organizations helping Ireland; it does most of its work by choosing and contributing to the work of other NGOs.^{[citation needed]}

Although The American Ireland Fund remains the largest component of The Ireland Funds structure, there are also chapters still operating in Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, United Kingdom, Japan, Monaco, Singapore, New Zealand, and Ireland.^[1]

Organization

The Ireland Funds have their world headquarters in Boston, with offices in New York, San Francisco, Dallas, Chicago, Washington D.C., Philadelphia, Toronto, Dublin, London and Sydney.^[1]

Governance and staffing

The Ireland Funds are overseen by voluntary directors at various levels, and have regional and global staff. Each country or chapter has its own governance body, such as a Board of Directors, with operations led by a local regional or executive director.

Publicity

The organisation has had an active website since 1996, with four major relaunches since then.^[13]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Our mission Archived 2014-01-06 at the Wayback Machine, The Ireland Funds, Boston, MA, 2014, Retrieved 5 January 2014.
^ "Our History". irelandfunds.org. Archived from the original on 14 April 2017. Retrieved 14 April 2017.
^ Sanders, Andrew (1 September 2022). The Long Peace Process: The United States of America and Northern Ireland, 1960-2008. Liverpool University Press. p. 179. ISBN 978-1-8020-7690-5.
^ Arthur William Bourn Vincent
^ Lindsay, Susan Getudis (2008), "American Ireland Fund", in Byrne, James Patrick; Coleman, Philip; King, Jason Francis (eds.), Ireland and the Americas: Culture, Politics, and History : A Multidisciplinary Encyclopedia, vol. 2, ABC-CLIO, p. 53
^ Sanders, Andrew (1 September 2022). The Long Peace Process: The United States of America and Northern Ireland, 1960-2008. Liverpool University Press. p. 181. ISBN 978-1-8020-7690-5.
^ The Raising of the Green: Promoting peace keeps Boston lawyer's Irish eyes smiling, p. 100, at Google Books
^ Isabel Woodford and M.L.R. Smith (2018). "The Political Economy of the Provos: Inside the Finances of the Provisional IRA – A Revision" (PDF). Studies in Conflict and Terrorism. 41 (3). Taylor & Francis: 3.
^ Andrew Mumford (6 August 2012). The Counter-Insurgency Myth: The British Experience of Irregular Warfare. Taylor & Francis. p. 119. ISBN 9-7811-3664-9387.
^ Nicholas Sambanis and Paul Collier (January 2005). Understanding Civil War: Evidence and Analysis · Volume 2. World Bank. p. 171. ISBN 9-7808-2136-0507. Estimated to have sent at total of $3.6 million to Ireland from 1970 to 1991, NORAID's contributions represented a small, but not [politically] insignificant, part of the IRA's income, which is estimated to have amounted to approximately $10 million a year.
^ T. Wittig (26 July 2011). Understanding Terrorist Finance. Palgrave Macmillan. p. 154-155. ISBN 9-7802-3031-6935. From its founding in 1969 until 1991, NORAID raised approximately $3.6 million for Irish republican causes, through a combination of testimonial fundraising dinners and an extensive campaign to solicit donations through direct mail, dinner-dance benefits, and "passing the hat" in Irish American-owned businesses (such as bars) in major US cities.' This money was ostensibly to provide support for any number of causes related to Ireland and Irish republicanism, ranging from political activities to support to the families of imprisoned PIRA members
^ Pamela Duncan and Simon Carswell (5 March 2015). "Sinn Féin raised $12 million in the United States". The Irish Times. (subscription required)
^ The Ireland Funds Archived 2014-01-06 at the Wayback Machine, The Ireland Funds, Boston, MA, 2014, Retrieved 5 January 2014.