Up to $250,000 could be raised for families of victims of the September 11 attacks at a US fundraising dinner to be addressed by Gerry Adams, his spokesman said today.
Mr Adams travels to New York tomorrow for the annual dinner on Thursday, planned by the Friends of Sinn Féin organisation. He will later go to Canada to brief a government representative on the peace drive.
In the past, Irish republicans have used such events run by the Irish-American community to boost their own coffers, but this year the proceeds will go to an independent fund for families of construction workers killed in the hijack attacks.
None of the money will come to Sinn Féin or Friends of Sinn Fein. All of the money made from the dinner will go to this fund. "It should be a minimum of 200,000, it could be a quarter of a million," a Sinn Féin spokesman said.
Sinn Féin said Mr Adams had no plans to meet US government officials.
Mr Adams will be interviewed on CNN's Larry King LiveTV show tomorrow and on Thursday will give a news conference in New York, his spokesman said.
He travels to Ottawa at the weekend to meet a Canadian government official to brief him on the North, and "to use the opportunity to thank them for lending us General de Chastelain," the spokesman said.
Retired Canadian General John de Chastelain has headed the Northern Ireland disarmament commission since 1998.
