The Ireland Funds

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.

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, 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."

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.

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

Fundraising
In 1988, O' Reily declared to The New York Times that the Ireland Fund was raising $4 million per year. By July 1993, the group was raising $6 million annually, holding 24 events in 12 American cities. 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.

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.

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).

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, 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.

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.

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.

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.