O'Reilly's charitable donations queried
Howard Lake | 18 June 2007 | News
Charitable donations made by Independent News & Media have become embroiled in a dispute between that company’s chief executive, Tony O’Reilly, and fellow billionaire, Dennis O’Brien. Newspaper reports suggest that Mr O’Brien is in a battle to take over the company, in which the O’Reilly family has a significant holding.
Mr O’Brien sent a letter to IN&M asking for details of the company’s charitable donations made in the name of Mr O’Reilly and his family in the last five years. The company replied that donations were not made to colleges UCD, TCD or DCU, which have received major gifts in the O’Reilly name, but confirmed that £1 million from the company has been pledged annually for Queen’s University’s O’Reilly library from 2007 to 2010.
The company also disclosed that the average annual worldwide donations by the company in the last five years is ‚€700,000. Mr O’Brien, who has built up a significant stake in IN&M, has sent a number of letters questioning the governance of the company.
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Mr O’Brien also has a major philanthropic profile, having chaired the Irish Special Olympics board and provided funding for the establishment of a human rights body.
About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale.
He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.