State to give €10m to Ireland Funds

The Ireland Funds charitable group has launched a new fund-raising campaign with a pledge of €10million from the Government.

The organisation, which held its annual board meeting in Dublin yesterday, intends to raise the remainder of its €20 million target through contributions from philanthropists around the world. The worldwide chairman of the Ireland Funds, Sir Anthony O'Reilly, has made a personal gift of €2 million.

Kingsley Aikins, chief executive of the Worldwide Ireland Funds, said: "The Government's generosity is a terrific recognition of the $275 million the funds have raised in 11 countries over the last 30 years for hundreds of projects throughout the island of Ireland." This investment would be returned many times over in years to come, he added.

At its meeting, the group also announced €4.7 million in grants for the first six months of this year to over 200 projects across Ireland. Ireland Funds, which aims to harness the worldwide network of people of Irish ancestry and friends of Ireland, has supported more than 1,200 non-profit groups north and south of the Border, benefiting a range of arts, community, education and peace programmes.