Niall O'Dowd
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Niall O'Dowd (born 18 May 1953) is an Irish-born American journalist and author. He was involved in the negotiations leading to the Northern Irish Good Friday Peace Agreement. He is the founder of ''
Irish Voice The ''Irish Voice'' is a newspaper published in New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest nat ...
'' newspaper and ''Irish America'' magazine in
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
, as well as overseeing ''Home and Away'' newspaper. He is also the founder of ''IrishCentral'', an Irish
website A website (also written as a web site) is any web page whose content is identified by a common domain name and is published on at least one web server. Websites are typically dedicated to a particular topic or purpose, such as news, educatio ...
which he launched in March 2009.


Early life

O'Dowd was born in Thurles,
County Tipperary County Tipperary () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. The county is named after the town of Tipperary (tow ...
in Ireland but moved to
Drogheda Drogheda ( , ; , meaning "bridge at the ford") is an industrial and port town in County Louth on the east coast of Ireland, north of Dublin. It is located on the Dublin–Belfast corridor on the east coast of Ireland, mostly in County Louth ...
when he was nine. After attending Drogheda CBS and Gormanston College, he was a student at
University College Dublin University College Dublin (), commonly referred to as UCD, is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland. With 38,417 students, it is Ireland's largest ...
, gaining a Bachelor of Arts 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 California in 50 years, the ''Irishman Newspaper''. In 1985, he moved to
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
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 William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...
for president. He led an Irish American peace delegation to Northern Ireland after Clinton was elected and he acted as intermediary between
Sinn Féin Sinn Féin ( ; ; ) is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The History of Sinn Féin, original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffit ...
and the White House at a critical period in the peace process. He played a key role in securing a US visa for
Gerry Adams Gerard Adams (; born 6 October 1948) is a retired Irish Republican politician who was the president of Sinn Féin between 13 November 1983 and 10 February 2018, and served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for Louth from 2011 to 2020. From 1983 to 19 ...
in February 1994. His role was featured in the book ''Daring Diplomacy'' by ''
The Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It was launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is Ireland's leading n ...
'' journalist Conor O'Clery and also in an
RTÉ (; ; RTÉThe É in RTÉ is pronounced as an English E () and not an Irish É ()) is an Irish public service broadcaster. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on television, radio and online. The radio service began on 1 January 1926, ...
- 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, 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'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'', ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'', ''
The Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It was launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is Ireland's leading n ...
'' as well as tabloid 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 11 September attacks, reached number two on the Irish bestseller 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 A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...
for immigration reform that would secure working visas for an estimated 25,000 illegal Irish immigrants. He was named among the state's most influential people by ''New York'' magazine in their issue of 15 May 2006. He was featured on the "People You Should Know" segment of the Paula Zahn Now program on
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in 2007. In January 2008, he was appointed an adjunct professor at Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. In March 2009, O'Dowd launched ''IrishCentral'' a companion website to his two publications. The launch was attended by then Irish
Taoiseach The Taoiseach (, ) is the head of government or prime minister of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The office is appointed by the President of Ireland upon nomination by Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas, Ireland's national legisl ...
,
Brian Cowen Brian Bernard Cowen (born 10 January 1960) is an Irish former politician who served as Taoiseach and Leader of Fianna Fáil from 2008 to 2011. Cowen served as a TD for the constituency of Laois–Offaly from 1984 to 2011 and served in several ...
. In March 2010 he published his second book ''An Irish Voice, an autobiography''. He became a ''Huffington Post'' blogger in September 2010. In September 2014 the Irish government awarded him the President's Distinguished Services Award He wrote his third book "Lincoln and the Irish – The Untold Story" in March 2017. On 8 March 2018, the Washington Post magazine featured an article on his secret work on the Irish peace process called "The Negotiator" in the print copy and a different copy online. He was one of the featured subjects in a major book entitled "Nine Irish Lives" also in March 2018 which named the nine Irish-born Americans who contributed the most to America. In 2020, he published ''A New Ireland: How Europe's Most Conservative Country Became Its Most Liberal''.


Irish Presidency bid

In early June 2011, O'Dowd announced he was considering becoming a candidate in the 2011 Irish Presidential election, calling himself "an Irish Diaspora voice." According to Walter Ellis, writing in the Irish Times, O'Dowd's goal was
...to call on the power of the Irish diaspora and bring it to bear on the country’s crippled economy. He would rally the world’s wealthiest Irish people and encourage them to invest in Ireland, North and South.
O'Dowd approached
Sinn Féin Sinn Féin ( ; ; ) is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The History of Sinn Féin, original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffit ...
and possibly other Irish parties seeking support. Sinn Féin, though then party president Gerry Adams, stated in mid-June that they had been "lobbied by all the independent candidates" including O'Dowd. By 27 June, '' The Irish Echo'' declared the "Irish presidential field sstarting to look crowded", citing a comment from O'Dowd saying "The reality is you have to fish where the fish are and the only votes for me are with Fianna Fáil and Sinn Féin." On the same day, Gerry Adams announced Sinn Féin would "will make no decision on whether to back Irish-American publisher Niall O’Dowd or any other independent candidate for the presidency until it decides next month whether to run its own candidate." On 30 June, O'Dowd stated he would not be running for the office. O'Dowd stated his reasons involved "The logistical challenges of running for an office as an independent against established political parties is incredible." Walter Ellis, writing in ''
The Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It was launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is Ireland's leading n ...
'' remarked that, despite many impressive qualifications, "O'Dowd would not get my vote," calling him "too much of an Irish-American for the Áras." An Irish Independent/Millward Brown Lansdowne poll revealed O’Dowd had been "way down the field of candidates with just 3pc support." Sinn Féin vice-president
Martin McGuinness James Martin Pacelli McGuinness (; 23 May 1950 – 21 March 2017) was an Irish republican politician and statesman for Sinn Féin and a leader within the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) during The Troubles. He was the deputy First Minist ...
became that party's candidate, with backing from O'Dowd, and came third at 13.7 of the vote. Michael D Higgins was elected
President of Ireland The president of Ireland () is the head of state of Republic of Ireland, Ireland and the supreme commander of the Defence Forces (Ireland), Irish Defence Forces. The presidency is a predominantly figurehead, ceremonial institution, serving as ...
(see 2011 Irish presidential election).


"Irish slaves" controversy

Writing in ''The New York Times'' in March 2017, Liam Stack noted that inaccurate "Irish slavery" claims had been given publicity in mainstream media including ''
Scientific American ''Scientific American'', informally abbreviated ''SciAm'' or sometimes ''SA'', is an American popular science magazine. Many scientists, including Albert Einstein and Nikola Tesla, have contributed articles to it, with more than 150 Nobel Pri ...
'', ''
Daily Kos Daily Kos ( ) is a group blog and internet forum focused on the U.S. Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party and Modern liberalism in the United States, liberal American politics. The site publishes blog posts, polls, election and cam ...
'', and O'Dowd's ''IrishCentral''. O'Dowd responded with an op-ed stating that "there is no way the Irish slave experience mirrored the extent or level of centuries-long degradation that African slaves went through." Liam Hogan, among others, criticized ''IrishCentral'' for being slow to remove from its website two articles (one of them based on a piece that ''Scientific American'' quickly withdrew), and for the editorial's drawing comparisons between
indentured servitude Indentured servitude is a form of labor in which a person is contracted to work without salary for a specific number of years. The contract called an " indenture", may be entered voluntarily for a prepaid lump sum, as payment for some good or s ...
and slavery.


Personal life

O'Dowd is married to Debbie McGoldrick and they have a daughter Alana. He is the brother of the
Fine Gael Fine Gael ( ; ; ) is a centre-right, liberal-conservative, Christian democratic political party in Ireland. Fine Gael is currently the third-largest party in the Republic of Ireland in terms of members of Dáil Éireann. The party had a member ...
TD, Fergus O'Dowd.


References


External links


A View of the World from New York and Belfast

The Pensive Quill

Niall O’Dowd: The emigrant’s candidate for President?
{{DEFAULTSORT:Odowd, Niall 1953 births Living people Irish journalists Irish magazine founders Irish-American culture in New York (state) Irish emigrants to the United States Irish newspaper founders Alumni of University College Dublin People from Thurles The Guardian journalists The Irish Times people The New York Times people Writers from County Tipperary People educated at Gormanston College