Chuck Feeney; An Appreciation

Martin Mansergh

Chuck Feeney is unique and extraordinary in the annals of philanthropy, certainly in Irish experience. His contribution at a major turning-point in Ireland's fortunes will always be remembered. As a very successful and wealthy businessman, but in his case without the trappings, he was a leading member of the increasingly well-organized Irish-American community, who embraced with enthusiasm and

commitment the peace process and the opportunities that it would create across Ireland, and who gave credibility to prospects for success. Bill Clinton was persuaded to adopt the peace process in a more independent way, so as to redress to a degree the imbalance in power between the British and Irish Governments, and his interventions helped tip the balance in 1998 in favour of the Good Friday Agreement.

Chuck Feeney was concerned by the breakdown of the IRA ceasefire in February 1996 and as how best to use his influence to help restore it. Right up to today, for example, in the context of Brexit, the United States Congress is not the uncritical supporter of the British position in relation to Ireland that the US Administration once was. Chuck Feeney used Atlantic Philanthropies, his vehicle for fund distribution, to assist groups that could help sustain the peace process.

The other sector where Chuck Feeney made a major difference was in higher education. The early 1990s saw a big expansion in third sector education to embrace nearly half the age group that makes up the main student cohort. The universities and third-level colleges throughout the island badly needed a major upgrade in their buildings and facilities, and Chuck Feeney was for a considerable period the main source of extra-budgetary funding for many of these institutions. This has played its part in raising the Irish economy, its attractiveness as a location for inward investment, and in increasing the range of high-value employments. The third role is the assistance given to civil society and NGOs in the area of enhancement of rights and the modernization of social standards.

In summary, Chuck Feeney and Atlantic Philanthropies between them have made a huge difference to Ireland, a country that has made a great leap forward in the past quarter of a century, notwithstanding many difficulties with which we still grapple.

[September 2020]