John Fitzpatrick, chairman of the boards of the American Ireland Funds and Kieran McLoughlin, who resigned as CEO of the funds last month, at a gala in San Francisco in 2015
On September 26 last.
Kieran McLoughlin stepped down from his position of chief executive officer of Ireland Funds, after 22 years of working with the organisation.
Around the same time, the fund’s chief operating officer Tim O’Leary also resigned.
On Friday, John Fitzpatrick, chairman of the board of the Ireland Funds, confirmed that legal action had begun relating to the alleged embezzlement of funds by an employee in the charity’s Dallas, Texas, office.
Ireland Funds is a philanthropic foundation founded by Tony O’Reilly in 1976 to support peace in Northern Ireland. It has reportedly raised $600 million for various causes across the island of Ireland.
The group’s board of directors include former president Mary McAleese, Public Relations executive Caroline Kennedy and members of senior management of KPMG, Paddy Power Betfair, AIB, An Post and ICON among others.
This morning, Aaron Rogan, in The Times Ireland edition, reports:
‘The chief executive of the Ireland Funds resigned after an audit prompted by the alleged embezzlement of up to $1 million was critical of governance at the philanthropic organisation, The Times understands.
Prominent supporters and board members have also raised concerns about the management of the fund under Kieran McLoughlin, who has remained at the organisation since announcing his resignation two weeks ago.
…The initial statement on Mr McLoughlin’s resignation did not give any reason for his departure…
….Mr McLoughlin has since said that he resigned because his contract was expiring and that the Dallas incident “crystallised” his decision.
It is now understood that Mr McLoughlin stood down after he was presented with findings of an independent report into the handling of the alleged embezzlement in Dallas.
It is understood that Mr McLoughlin only reported directly to John Fitzpatrick…’
Concerns raised about governance at Ireland Funds (The Times Ireland edition)
Previously: Kicking It Old School (Broadsheet, March 2013)
