US fundraiser Friends of Sinn Féin reports slump in donations

Donations received by Sinn Féin’s American fundraising arm slumped to $6,971 (€5,662) for the six months to the end of October, the lowest amount raised by the New York-based company in a half-year period in 13 years.

Friends of Sinn Féin Inc listed the donations in the latest biannual filing to the department of justice in Washington.

The money raised does not include $350,000 the party expected to raise at the $500-a-plate New York fundraising dinner attended by Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams and Donegal TD Pearse Doherty on November 6th, which fell outside the reporting period.

The figure compares with $59,246 for the same six-month period last year and $359,023 received in the six months to the end of April.

Elections

Donations ranging from $10 to $1,000 from individuals living across the

United States

– from Jackman, in

Maine

, to Tallahassee, in Florida, to Palo Alto, in

California

– were made during the six months, a period during which the European and local elections were held.

The latest sum, $2,000, came from the building and construction trades division of the AFL/CIO, the largest federation of trade unions in the US.

Friends of Sinn Féin, which received the donations through five bank accounts in New York City, spent $106,004, including $56,241 on travel-related expenses and $27,000 on payroll and payroll taxes.

The fundraising arm has raised more than $10 million since it was established in 1995.