Ninth Level Ireland

“Veteran American entrepreneur Chuck Feeney has signed the papers to dissolve his Atlantic Philanthropies foundation that provided more than $8 billion (€6.8 billion) in grants over the past 38 years. This included $1.3 billion to projects in the Republic and $570 million to projects in Northern Ireland …” (more)

[Ciarán Hancock, Irish Times, 15 September]

“As Irish universities hurtle towards a funding crisis in the wake of COVID-19, the UCD Foundation is restarting its phone fundraising campaign. Aside from their role as a source of fundraising for the University, most students will recognize the UCD Foundation for its call centre, whose efforts account for about €800,000 of its overall annual income and serves as a popular source of on-campus employment. The Foundation also manages the University Club …” (more)

[Jack McGee, College Tribune, 16 June]

“The University of Limerick’s (UL) fundraising arm has appointed a new chief executive. The UL Foundation, which has raised approximately €200 million for the university since its inception in 1989, said Harvey Duthie would take up the role of chief executive as well as UL vice president development later this month …” (more)

[Irish Times, 6 January]

“Cork University Business School (CUBS) have received a $1,000,000 philanthropic gift from an anonymous donor. The donation will support scholarships, learning through practical experience initiatives and entrepreneurship programmes for students …” (more)

[Irish Examiner, 18 November]

“Trinity College Dublin (TCD) is launching a worldwide fundraising campaign to help it reach a target of €400m to develop the campus, recruit more academic staff and improve the student experience generally. It is Trinity’s first major philanthropic campaign in its more than 400-year history and the largest ever undertaken in education on the island of Ireland …” (more)

[Katherine Donnelly, Independent, 2 May]

“YES: As the largest university campus in the country, UCD has very high overheads. They have to be able to keep the lights on from month to month. Therefore, any extra funding they can gain, be it from government funding or Alumni donations, can only make the student experience better …” (more)

[Heather Reynolds and Nathan Young, University Observer, 27 March]

“The UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School was the big winner in the $29.47m donated to 352 organisations and projects here and across the world by the American Ireland Funds (AIF) in 2017 …” (more)

[Gordon Deegan, Independent, 11 January]

“Turin, Moscow and Havana are three iconic cities which helped shape the outlook and work of Tom Cavanagh, businessman, philanthropist and optimist. In December, University College Cork, his alma matter to which he has given so much time and support over the years, honoured the Fermoy man with a bridge in his family’s name on the grounds of the university …” (more)

[Graham Clifford, Irish Times, 4 January]

“Programme leaders from Trinity College Dublin met their benefactor – philanthropist and former billionaire Charles ‘Chuck’ Feeney – at the Global Brain Health Institute conference in San Francisco last week. They were among 70 programme leaders who gathered together from across the globe …” (more)

[Independent, 16 December]

“Work will begin this year on a €60 million development at Trinity College Dublin that will provide 1,800 additional places for students taking courses in science, technology engineering and mathematics (Stem) subjects. The development is being supported by a €25 million donation from Glen Dimplex Group founder Dr Martin Naughton and his wife, Carmel, which is the largest single philanthropic donation in the history of the State …” (more)

[Éanna Ó Caollaí, Irish Times, 25 May]

“New NUI Galway president Ciarán Ó hÓgartaigh wants to see a culture of alumni giving back to their universities to help fund the education of current third-level students. He told the Irish Independent there was a ‘great tradition’ of past students gifting contributions to their universities in North America …” (more)

[Sorcha O’Connor, Independent, 19 February]

“Trinity secured over €73 million in pledged donations in 2015/16, a rise of over €20 million from the previous year, as College continues to focus on developing a network of alumni amid an ongoing higher education funding crisis …” (more)

[Dominic McGrath, University Times, 3 March]

“It’s the season to celebrate the spirit of giving. MRI scans of the brain show that the ‘joy of giving’ has a real biological basis: in a Harvard study linking charitable giving and happiness, researchers found that when we give, two parts of the brain connected to our dopamine reward circuitry — also stimulated by eating, orgasm, and the sight of our romantic partners — show activity …” (more)

[Ellie O’Byrne, Irish Examiner, 21 December]

“Irish-American philanthropist Chuck Feeney is planning a major investment in Trinity College Dublin in one of a series of parting gifts before his charitable operations wind down, The Irish Times has learnt …” (more)

[Joe Humphreys, Irish Times, 18 September]

“By 2016 philanthropist Chuck Feeney will have given €1.5 billion to education projects in Ireland. A weighty new photographic book illustrates his generosity here and abroad …” (more)

[Joe Humphreys, Irish Times, 15 September]

“Gifts and donations to the University of Limerick Foundation increased by 90%, rising to €13.5m in 2014. The latest accounts filed for the company, which has raised in excess of €200m in philanthropic funding to support the University of Limerick …” (more)

[Anne Sheridan, Limerick Leader, 30 June]

“Donald Keough, who has died aged 87 in Atlanta, Georgia, was a notable exemplar of the rags-to-riches Irish-American story who became, in the late 20th and early 21st century, a household name in the twin fields of business and philanthropy … ” (more)

[Irish Times, 21 March]

“Deeper Sino-Irish relations, an increased emphasis on philanthropy and a teachers’ pay claim are among our predictions for the new year …” (more)

[Joe Humphreys, Irish Times, 1 December]

“The news may be well in the past, especially by the standards of university life, but the recent opening of Kinsella Hall is worth bringing back into public discussion. For a seemingly minor event, its significance for the future of Trinity has been vastly underestimated …” (more)

[Daniel O’Brien, University Times, 3 November]

“Ireland’s premier surgical training body is looking to philanthropy on an international scale to play a more significant and sustained role in the life and work of the College and has committed to significant investment in the creation of a development function …” (more)

[Lloyd Mudiwa, Irish Medical Times, 17 October]