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Home Page > Blogs > News blogs > Periscope > Ireland needs a Minister for the Diaspora to identify next generation of Irish American leaders - Impact of men like Don Keough and Chuck Feeney greater than generations of Irish leaders

Periscope by Niall O'Dowd

Ireland needs a Minister for the Diaspora to identify next generation of Irish American leaders - Impact of men like Don Keough and Chuck Feeney greater than generations of Irish leaders

Posted on Saturday, September 08, 2012 at 08:07 AM

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Chuck Feeney

Irish Americans such as Chuck Feeney and Donald Keough have had a more positive transformative impact in Ireland than generations of politicians there.

That was the main point I made in my speech accepting the Tip O’Neill Donegal Diaspora award in Buncrana last night before 400 people. I stated that I believed there are many other Don Keoughs and Chuck Feeneys out there in Irish America but the Irish government needs to get serious about identifying them.

It is not enough to just hold occasional Farmleigh Diaspora type meetings, make fine speeches praising the Diaspora and then let it fade until the next meeting. I believe the government should appoint a Minister for the Diaspora charged with identifying the next generation of Chuck Feeneys and Don Keoughs as well as having the minister work seriously on issues such as immigration reform in America which is very important to Irish living there as well as Irish hoping to emigrate legally.

The battle to get America involved in the peace process was very tough but a combination of far-seeing Irish government input and Irish American clout made the intervention of men like Bill Clinton and George Mitchell possible.

We need that same kind of energy and commitment now to issues like Irish American investment and immigration reform he stated. The work of Chuck Feeney and Don Keough were examples of what could be achieved.

Chuck Feeney’s $1.6 billion dollars contribution to Irish universities through Atlantic Philanthropies has meant that they can compete on the world stage and that future generations of Irish students can also compete with the best.

Before Feeney’s grant giving Irish universities lagged badly inresearch and were not equipped to cope in the modern era.

The fact that an unprecedented nine universities jointly honored Chuck Feeney this week shows just how critical his support was to them. In addition Feeney played a critical role in getting President Bill Clinton involved in the Irish peace process and funded the Sinn Fein office in Washington at a time when that organization needed every reassurance that the turn away from militant Republicanism could pay off.

Speaking about Donald Keough, I stated “He and Irish businessman Martin Naughton brought the Notre Dame Game to Ireland with its $150 million spin off for the Irish economy.”

“That game came about because of the Keough/Naughton Institute for Irish Studies at Notre Dame which Don Keough set up in 1993. Now it is the premier Irish Studies program in the United States and indeed world wide.

“But more than that, he established Coca-Cola in Ireland back when the IDA desperately needed major US clients to kick start Ireland’s economic development

“Today he remains a vital resource for Ireland in reaching out to other leading business leaders and discussing investment in Ireland with them,” I said.

I said I believed We needed to identify the next generation of Don Keoughs and Chuck Feeneys in the same way we need to identify the political successors to men like Tip O’Neill who did so much for Ireland.

The Irish government should significantly ramp up its efforts to do so.

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WoundedKnee | Sep 08, 2012, 02:29 PM EDT

paulpaul: What you say is nonsense. No true lover of Ireland will lobby for greater emigration from Ireland, particularly at a time when thousands of foreign migrants flood into Ireland every week. We Irish Americans identify with IRELAND, not with Polskaya Irlanda.

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paulpaulpaul | Sep 08, 2012, 01:58 PM EDT

It`s a good idea alright. Ireland`s manufacturing strength at the moment, apart from educated, adaptable workforce etc, is the low rate of Corporation tax that obtains there. If everyone world wide does a bit of the heavy lifting, it negates the need for an American-based Diaspora Minister, who might or might not have Cabinet membership. Would this be interpreted in China, or Aba Dhabi, as a misplaced emphasis on Trade/Development with the U.S, to the detriment of Investment potential with China, or, yes, Abu Dhabi. Immigration Reform-wise, people should be down at DNC and RNC Headquarters with heavy hitting arguments, calling on both parties, and candidates, to publicly undertake resolution of the situation. STAT! We`ve already had the Dems and GOP masquerade as being proactive on Immigration Reform. "Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, ahem, er".

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trigger | Sep 08, 2012, 12:57 PM EDT

Niall is 100% correct in his assertion re a minister for diaspora but it will never happen. Nothing will change in Ireland unless the troika come in to oversee the running of the country. Right now it seems that the waste in the public service will not be dealt with and the economy is just starting to grow again, this tallied with a probable debt write down by the troika will preserve the elite self service public sector. Watch this space they will get away with it.

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Searlit | Sep 08, 2012, 11:11 AM EDT

True leaders emerge, I agree with that. We all can do without more posturing.

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rgray222 | Sep 08, 2012, 09:27 AM EDT

Leaders need to emerge naturally not be chosen. The process can not be dictated by a few but it must be the will of the people.

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