Edmund Heaphy | Creative Director
He’s the billionaire who wasn’t. And only because he gave away his billions to charity. Chuck Feeney, described as the man who “gave away a fortune without anyone knowing”, is one of those guys who realises the magnitude of the things you can accomplish if you really don’t care who gets the credit. Considering he has given over a billion to the University of Limerick, maybe “accomplish” isn’t quite the word to use. Giving a billion away isn’t just an accomplishment. As far as philanthropy goes, a billion is a triumph so great that it’s pretty hard to get your head around.
Against all odds, there’s a whole bunch of people who seem to believe in this little country of ours
ADVERTISEMENT
Feeney’s not alone. Just have a look at the American Ireland Fund. Against all odds, there’s a whole bunch of people who seem to believe in this little country of ours. They believed in it when peace seemed impossible in the North. They believed in it in the eighties when there really wasn’t much to believe in. Sure, they really believed in us when the Celtic Tiger roared. But they’re still with us now. As far as they’re concerned, there’s even more to believe in today because they’ve seen what Ireland looks like when we’re at that peak and because there’s this great big pile of potential that needs to be tapped again. It’s just waiting, I suppose.
That’s why it’s mortifying to see people like Loretta Brennan Glucksman – someone who has raised nearly half a billion for Irish charities – speak about her sadness and confusion after learning that perhaps we’ve been pushing their amazing loyalty to the limit.
After flying to Ireland at her own expense to hear Frank Flannery speak at length last year about lobbying the government to introduce taxation initiatives to stimulate philanthropy from tax exiles, Glucksman was devastated to find out that he was actually being paid tens of thousands by Rehab Ireland to do his work. Meanwhile, she continues to work tirelessly – and most notably, for free – promoting the interests of Ireland all over the U.S.
If we’re to look at this from a purely financial “balance sheet” point of view, our educational institutions would be a lot worse off if it wasn’t for the generosity of people like Feeney and Glucksman
Let’s not beat around the bush here: while overall, we might be a pretty good (if not great) bunch of people, we also have quite a fair few – like Flannery et al. – who seem determined to take advantage and ruin it for the rest of us. And the rest of us, well, let’s just say that we’re not that great at letting those who believe in us know that we actually are pretty damn grateful for the work they’ve spent their entire lives doing. Maybe the problem might even lie with us not recognising what it is that we should be grateful for.
Because even if we’re to look at this from a purely financial “balance sheet” point of view, our educational institutions would be a lot worse off if it wasn’t for the generosity of people like Feeney and Glucksman. While bestowing them with honorary degrees, and getting Enda Kenny to speak at luncheons on St. Patrick’s Day goes some of the way, the most logical thing to do is to start with common decency and try to figure out what the hell it is that they see in us. Looking from the inside in – even taking a glance at the Oireachtas report, it’s pretty hard to figure why on earth we seem to deserve their generosity. Our politicians seem inept at best and inherently corrupt at worst. Just where are all these people so deserving of their life’s work? Glucksman has raised millions for scholarships, libraries, research, galleries and the restoration of college buildings and we’re pushing our luck by spending hundreds of thousands changing the bible in our crest to an open book and undervaluing the very scholars that she has dedicated her life’s work to.
Glucksman says that it’s going to take years to rebuild “any sort of trust or confidence” in Ireland when it comes to philanthropy. Yet there’s something we can do now: let’s say thank you for an amazing life’s work.
