Niall O'Dowd
Encyclopedia
Niall O'Dowd is an Irish
journalist and author living in the United States
. He was extensively involved in the negotiations leading to the Irish Good Friday Peace Agreement
, and is a proponent of comprehensive immigration reform in the United States. He is founder of Irish Voice
newspaper and Irish America
magazine in New York, as well as overseeing Home and Away
newspaper. He is also the founder of Irish Central, a global Irish internet website which he launched in March 2009.
, County Tipperary
in Ireland
but moved to Drogheda
when he was nine. After attending Drogheda CBS and Gormanston College
, he was a student at University College Dublin
, gaining a Bachelor of Arts
degree in 1977. He emigrated to the United States in June 1978.
in 50 years, the Irishman Newspaper. In 1985, he moved to New York where he founded the Irish America magazine, the first ever national Irish American magazine. In 1987, he founded the Irish Voice newspaper, the first successful Irish American newspaper launch since 1928.
He was a founder of the Irish Americans for Clinton campaign in 1991, supporting candidate Bill Clinton
for president. He led an Irish American peace delegation to Northern Ireland
after Clinton was elected and he acted as intermediary between Sinn Féin
and the White House at a critical period in the peace process. He played a key role in securing a U.S. visa for Gerry Adams
in February 1994. His role was featured in the book Daring Diplomacy by The Irish Times
journalist Conor O'Clery
and also in an RTÉ
-PBS documentary entitled An Irish Voice. He has created numerous successful business networks through his publications including the Wall Street 50, Business 100, Hall of Fame, Legal 100, Silicon Valley 50 magazine in conjunction with the Irish Technology and Leadership Group, and the Science and Technology 50. He created the US Ireland Forum, a forerunner of the Diaspora forum held by the Irish government in 2009.
He is a close confidante of the Clinton family and served in Hillary's Finance Committee for her 2008 presidential run. In April 2011, at the inaugural Irish America Hall of Fame luncheon in New York, former President Clinton stated that his initial involvement in the Northern Ireland issue has come about through O'Dowd.
He has written for The New York Times
, The Guardian
, The Irish Times
and many other leading publications. He has spoken to groups involved in the Middle East peace process as well as the former Sri Lanka conflict about the importance of diaspora involvement in seeking solutions. A video interview with him on diaspora impact on successful peace processes was used at the US State Department Global Diaspora Conference in May 2011, chaired by Hillary Clinton.
In 2002, his book Fire in the Morning, about Irish people at the World Trade Center
during the September 11 attacks
, reached number two on the Irish best seller list. O'Dowd was awarded an honorary doctorate by his alma mater University College Dublin in 2004 for his role in the peace process and his work on the Irish American and Irish relationship. O'Dowd was one of the founders of the Irish Lobby for Immigration Reform in 2005, set up to lobby the Congress for comprehensive immigration reform.
He was named among New York's most influential people by New York magazine in their issue of May 15, 2006. He was featured on the "People You Should Know" segment of the Paula Zahn Now program on CNN
in 2007. In January 2008, he was appointed an adjunct professor at Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism..
In March 2009, O'Dowd launched Irish Central a companion website to his two publications. The launch was attended by then Irish Taoiseach
, Brian Cowen
. In March 2010 he published his second book An Irish Voice, an autobiography. He became a Huffington Post blogger in September 2010.
He announced in June 2011 that he was considering becoming a candidate in the 2011 Irish Presidential election but pulled out soon after.
, Fergus O'Dowd
.
Irish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
journalist and author living in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. He was extensively involved in the negotiations leading to the Irish Good Friday Peace Agreement
Belfast Agreement
The Good Friday Agreement or Belfast Agreement , sometimes called the Stormont Agreement, was a major political development in the Northern Ireland peace process...
, and is a proponent of comprehensive immigration reform in the United States. He is founder of Irish Voice
Irish Voice
The Irish Voice is a newspaper published in New York City, New York. It focuses on news and stories from an Irish-American perspective. The paper was first published in the fall of 1987 and was targeted at the new Irish immigrants who were moving in large numbers into the US.-Origins:The paper was...
newspaper and Irish America
Irish America magazine
Irish America magazine is a bi-monthly periodical that aims to cover topics relevant to the Irish in North America including a range of political, economic, social, and cultural themes. The magazine’s inaugural issue was published in October 1985...
magazine in New York, as well as overseeing Home and Away
Home and Away (newspaper)
Home and Away is a weekly Irish emigrant newspaper printed and distributed in New York City, USA.The paper was founded in 2003 by Fergus Hannah but was bought out by Irish Voice and Irish America publisher Niall O'Dowd in June 2007 for an undisclosed sum....
newspaper. He is also the founder of Irish Central, a global Irish internet website which he launched in March 2009.
Early life
O'Dowd was born in ThurlesThurles
Thurles is a town situated in North Tipperary, Ireland. It is a civil parish in the historical barony of Eliogarty and is also an ecclesiastical parish in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly...
, County Tipperary
County Tipperary
County Tipperary is a county of Ireland. It is located in the province of Munster and is named after the town of Tipperary. The area of the county does not have a single local authority; local government is split between two authorities. In North Tipperary, part of the Mid-West Region, local...
in Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
but moved to Drogheda
Drogheda
Drogheda is an industrial and port town in County Louth on the east coast of Ireland, 56 km north of Dublin. It is the last bridging point on the River Boyne before it enters the Irish Sea....
when he was nine. After attending Drogheda CBS and Gormanston College
Gormanston College
Gormanston College is a private, fee-paying, coeducational Catholic secondary school under the trusteeship of the Franciscan Province of Ireland. The College is located at Gormanston Castle , near Gormanston, County Meath, about north of Dublin, Ireland.The student body numbers around 600 and...
, he was a student at University College Dublin
University College Dublin
University College Dublin ) - formally known as University College Dublin - National University of Ireland, Dublin is the Republic of Ireland's largest, and Ireland's second largest, university, with over 1,300 faculty and 17,000 students...
, gaining a Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
degree in 1977. He emigrated to the United States in June 1978.
Career
He moved to San Francisco where he founded the first new Irish newspaper in CaliforniaCalifornia
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
in 50 years, the Irishman Newspaper. In 1985, he moved to New York where he founded the Irish America magazine, the first ever national Irish American magazine. In 1987, he founded the Irish Voice newspaper, the first successful Irish American newspaper launch since 1928.
He was a founder of the Irish Americans for Clinton campaign in 1991, supporting candidate Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
for president. He led an Irish American peace delegation to Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
after Clinton was elected and he acted as intermediary between Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin is a left wing, Irish republican political party in Ireland. The name is Irish for "ourselves" or "we ourselves", although it is frequently mistranslated as "ourselves alone". Originating in the Sinn Féin organisation founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffith, it took its current form in 1970...
and the White House at a critical period in the peace process. He played a key role in securing a U.S. visa for Gerry Adams
Gerry Adams
Gerry Adams is an Irish republican politician and Teachta Dála for the constituency of Louth. From 1983 to 1992 and from 1997 to 2011, he was an abstentionist Westminster Member of Parliament for Belfast West. He is the president of Sinn Féin, the second largest political party in Northern...
in February 1994. His role was featured in the book Daring Diplomacy by The Irish Times
The Irish Times
The Irish Times is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Kevin O'Sullivan who succeeded Geraldine Kennedy in 2011; the deputy editor is Paul O'Neill. The Irish Times is considered to be Ireland's newspaper of record, and is published every day except Sundays...
journalist Conor O'Clery
Conor O'Clery
Conor O'Clery is an Irish journalist and writer. He was born in Belfast and educated at Queen's University Belfast. He worked for The Irish Times for over 30 years in various positions, including news editor and foreign correspondent based in London, Moscow, Washington, D.C., Beijing and New York...
and also in an RTÉ
RTE
RTÉ is the abbreviation for Raidió Teilifís Éireann, the public broadcasting service of the Republic of Ireland.RTE may also refer to:* Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, 25th Prime Minister of Turkey...
-PBS documentary entitled An Irish Voice. He has created numerous successful business networks through his publications including the Wall Street 50, Business 100, Hall of Fame, Legal 100, Silicon Valley 50 magazine in conjunction with the Irish Technology and Leadership Group, and the Science and Technology 50. He created the US Ireland Forum, a forerunner of the Diaspora forum held by the Irish government in 2009.
He is a close confidante of the Clinton family and served in Hillary's Finance Committee for her 2008 presidential run. In April 2011, at the inaugural Irish America Hall of Fame luncheon in New York, former President Clinton stated that his initial involvement in the Northern Ireland issue has come about through O'Dowd.
He has written for The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
, The Irish Times
The Irish Times
The Irish Times is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Kevin O'Sullivan who succeeded Geraldine Kennedy in 2011; the deputy editor is Paul O'Neill. The Irish Times is considered to be Ireland's newspaper of record, and is published every day except Sundays...
and many other leading publications. He has spoken to groups involved in the Middle East peace process as well as the former Sri Lanka conflict about the importance of diaspora involvement in seeking solutions. A video interview with him on diaspora impact on successful peace processes was used at the US State Department Global Diaspora Conference in May 2011, chaired by Hillary Clinton.
In 2002, his book Fire in the Morning, about Irish people at the World Trade Center
World Trade Center
The original World Trade Center was a complex with seven buildings featuring landmark twin towers in Lower Manhattan, New York City, United States. The complex opened on April 4, 1973, and was destroyed in 2001 during the September 11 attacks. The site is currently being rebuilt with five new...
during the September 11 attacks
September 11, 2001 attacks
The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks (also referred to as September 11, September 11th or 9/119/11 is pronounced "nine eleven". The slash is not part of the pronunciation...
, reached number two on the Irish best seller list. O'Dowd was awarded an honorary doctorate by his alma mater University College Dublin in 2004 for his role in the peace process and his work on the Irish American and Irish relationship. O'Dowd was one of the founders of the Irish Lobby for Immigration Reform in 2005, set up to lobby the Congress for comprehensive immigration reform.
He was named among New York's most influential people by New York magazine in their issue of May 15, 2006. He was featured on the "People You Should Know" segment of the Paula Zahn Now program on CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
in 2007. In January 2008, he was appointed an adjunct professor at Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism..
In March 2009, O'Dowd launched Irish Central a companion website to his two publications. The launch was attended by then Irish Taoiseach
Taoiseach
The Taoiseach is the head of government or prime minister of Ireland. The Taoiseach is appointed by the President upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas , and must, in order to remain in office, retain the support of a majority in the Dáil.The current Taoiseach is...
, Brian Cowen
Brian Cowen
Brian Cowen is a former Irish politician who served as Taoiseach of Ireland from 7 May 2008 to 9 March 2011. He was head of a coalition government led by Fianna Fáil which until 23 January 2011 had the support of the Green Party and independent TDs.Cowen was also leader of Fianna Fáil from 7 May...
. In March 2010 he published his second book An Irish Voice, an autobiography. He became a Huffington Post blogger in September 2010.
He announced in June 2011 that he was considering becoming a candidate in the 2011 Irish Presidential election but pulled out soon after.
Personal life
O'Dowd is married to Debbie McGoldrick and has a daughter Alana. He is the brother of the Teachta DálaTeachta Dála
A Teachta Dála , usually abbreviated as TD in English, is a member of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas . It is the equivalent of terms such as "Member of Parliament" or "deputy" used in other states. The official translation of the term is "Deputy to the Dáil", though a more literal...
, Fergus O'Dowd
Fergus O'Dowd
Fergus O'Dowd is an Irish Fine Gael politician. He is currently a Teachta Dála for the Louth constituency, and the Minister of State for the NewEra Project....
.