Doherty, Pat
Peacemakers
In 1984, Pat Doherty, then a newcomer to the New York City comptroller's office, took on the MacBride Principles as his first major assignment. Armed with a master's degree in international relations from Columbia and a law degree from Hofstra, Doherty, the son of an Irish immigrant from Derry, began the long, often tedious task of contacting the various organizations with a stake in the Irish question and gathering all relevant information on employment discrimination in Northern Ireland.
The MacBride Principles, named for the late Irish statesman and Nobel Peace laureate Sean MacBride, were a set of fair employment guidelines for firms operating in Northern Ireland, focused on U.S. firms doing business there. They were passed by the New York State Legislature in 1986, and finally passed by the House and by the Senate in March 1996. They were signed into law by President Clinton in October, 1998.
Doherty continues to work for the office of the New York City comptroller.
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