Formation | 1976 |
---|---|
Type | Non-governmental organisation |
Purpose | Peace and reconciliation, community development, education, and arts and culture |
Headquarters | Boston, Massachusetts |
Chairman | Eugene M. McQuade |
President and CEO | Caitriona Fottrell |
Website | irelandfunds.org/ |
The American Ireland Fund (DBA The Ireland Funds America), is a tax-exempt organization incorporated under the laws of the United States and has been determined by the IRS to be a public charity under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, tax ID # is 25-1306992. The organization raises funds for the support of peace and reconciliation, community development, education, and arts and culture in Ireland. Collectively with The Ireland Funds’ 12 worldwide chapters, it has raised more than $550 million (US), benefiting more than 3,000 Irish charities. [1] [2]
In 1976, Tony O'Reilly, former CEO of H.J. Heinz Co., created The Ireland Funds with friend and fellow Pittsburgh businessman Dan Rooney, [3] who later served as the United States Ambassador to Ireland. With three goals, "Peace, Culture and Charity", The Ireland Funds 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." [4]
On St. Patrick's Day 1987, The Ireland Fund and the American Irish Foundation led by Arthur William Bourn Vincent [5] merged at a White House ceremony to form The American Ireland Fund. [6] In 1988, O' Reily declared to The New York Times that the Ireland Fund was raising $4 million per year. [7] [8] By July 1993, the group was raising $6 million annually, holding 24 events in 12 American cities. [9] 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.
Today, the global organization is known as The Ireland Funds. Operating in 12 countries with worldwide membership chapters, The Ireland Funds have raised more than $600 million (US) for over 3,200 organizations. [10] The Irish Times reported that the organization gave $15.7 million to such Irish organizations in 2012. The organization's net revenue amounted to more than $20 million in both 2011 and 2012. [11] According to the organisation's 2015 Form 990, total unrestricted revenues and support amounted to $29,893,941. [12]
The American Ireland Fund donated between $500,000 and $1 million to the Clinton Foundation. [13]
The headquarters of The Ireland Funds America is in Boston, Massachusetts. [2]
The Provisional Irish Republican Army, officially known as the Irish Republican Army and informally known as the Provos, was an Irish republican paramilitary force that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland, facilitate Irish reunification and bring about an independent republic encompassing all of Ireland. It was the most active republican paramilitary group during the Troubles. It argued that the all-island Irish Republic continued to exist, and it saw itself as that state's army, the sole legitimate successor to the original IRA from the Irish War of Independence. It was designated a terrorist organisation in the United Kingdom and an unlawful organisation in the Republic of Ireland, both of whose authority it rejected.
An individual retirement account (IRA) in the United States is a form of pension provided by many financial institutions that provides tax advantages for retirement savings. It is a trust that holds investment assets purchased with a taxpayer's earned income for the taxpayer's eventual benefit in old age. An individual retirement account is a type of individual retirement arrangement as described in IRS Publication 590, Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs). Other arrangements include individual retirement annuities and employer-established benefit trusts.
A charitable organization or charity is an organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being.
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, 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.
Trócaire is the official overseas development agency of the Catholic Church in Ireland.
NORAID, officially the Irish Northern Aid Committee, is an Irish American membership organization founded after the start of the Troubles in Northern Ireland in 1969. The organization states its mission is to aid in the creation of a United Ireland in the spirit of the 1916 Easter Proclamation and to support the Northern Ireland Peace process. During the Troubles, NORAID was known for raising funds for the Provisional Irish Republican Army and Nationalist relief groups such as Green Cross and An Cumann Cabrach.
Susan G. Komen is a breast cancer organization in the United States.
Terrorism financing is the provision of funds or providing financial support to individual terrorists or non-state actors.
The New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA) serves to foster and advance the arts, culture, and creativity throughout New York State, according to its website. The goal of the council is to allow all New Yorkers to benefit from the contributions the arts give to the city of New York through its communities, education, economic growth, and daily life. Its funding encompasses various artistic fields, such as literary, visual, media, performing arts, specifically focusing on art education and the underserved communities.
Martin J. Galvin is an Irish American lawyer, publisher and activist, and former director of NORAID.
The Pension Protection Act of 2006, 120 Stat. 780, was signed into law by U.S. President George W. Bush on August 17, 2006.
George Harrison was a primary gun runner for the Irish Republican Army and Provisional Irish Republican Army from the 1950s until 1981.
Scholarship America is a Minnesota-based American philanthropic organization that assists communities, corporations, foundations and individuals with fundraising, managing and awarding scholarships to students. The organization designs, administers and manages corporate and foundation scholarship programs; it also operates Dollars for Scholars, a coalition of local scholarship organizations in communities across the United States.
The Jerusalem Foundation is a nonprofit foundation that promotes the development of the city of Jerusalem, by raising funds for social, cultural and beautification projects. Established in 1966 by West Jerusalem mayor Teddy Kollek, it has contributed hundreds of millions of dollars to the city's budget and established parks, gardens, forests, recreational sites, theaters, and museums; restored ancient sites, synagogues, mosques, and churches; funded community and social centers, preschool centers, and health clinics; and sponsored archeological excavations, scholarships, and cultural events. The Jerusalem Foundation is unique in its structure and mission, as it funds municipal projects with private donations from international sources.
Patrick Ford was an Irish-American journalist and Georgist land reformer.
Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma, a relative of the British royal family, was assassinated on 27 August 1979 by Thomas McMahon, an Irish republican and a volunteer for the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA).
People of Irish descent form the largest single ethnic group in Massachusetts, and one of the largest in Boston. Once a Puritan stronghold, Boston changed dramatically in the 19th century with the arrival of immigrants from other parts of the world. The Irish dominated the first wave of newcomers during this period, especially following the Great Irish Famine. Their arrival transformed Boston from an Anglo-Saxon, Protestant city into one that has become progressively more diverse. These people hired Irish as workers and servants, but there was little social interaction. In the 1840s and 50s, the anti-Catholic, anti-immigrant Know Nothing movement targeted Irish Catholics in Boston. In the 1860s, many Irish immigrants fought for the Union in the American Civil War, and that display of patriotism helped to dispel much of the prejudice against them.
Brian Patrick Burns was an American entrepreneur, attorney and philanthropist. Burns was a distinguished collector of Irish art. In December 2016, Maggie Haberman of The New York Times reported that then president-elect Donald Trump intended to name Burns as the next United States Ambassador to Ireland. However, in June 2017, Burns withdrew his name from consideration, due to ill health.
Michael Flannery was an Irish republican who fought in the Irish War of Independence and the Irish Civil War. He supported the Provisional IRA during The Troubles and was a founder of NORAID and Cumann na Saoirse after Republican Sinn Féin and Provisional Sinn Féin split in 1986.
In order to finance their armed campaigns during the Troubles (1969–1998), both Irish republican and Ulster loyalist paramilitaries engaged in numerous fundraising activities within Ireland and the United Kingdom, such as bank robbery, extortion, drug trafficking, bootleg recording, racketeering, and legitimate businesses such as social clubs, taxi companies, and retail shops. They also received finances from overseas, with the Republican paramilitaries being given the most support.