Young Leaders DublinThe Ireland Funds · 50 YearsRSVP

The Ireland Funds · Young Leaders Dublin

Two shores.One island.Fifty years.

Since 1976, The Ireland Funds have raised over $750 million for peace, culture, education and community across the island of Ireland. In our 50th year, a new generation gathers in Dublin.

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About us

A new generation
of philanthropy

The Ireland Funds Young Leaders Society cultivates an emerging generation of philanthropists while providing a networking forum and a connection with modern Ireland. From New York to Sydney, London to San Francisco, Young Leaders societies bring together professionals aged 25–40 who care about the future of the island of Ireland — its peace, its culture, its charities and its communities.

The Dublin Society brings that energy home. In the year The Ireland Funds turn fifty, we are convening Ireland's next generation of business leaders, creators and changemakers — raising support for outstanding causes across the island while building friendships that span the Atlantic.

Samuel Beckett Bridge, Dublin
Dublin · River Liffey
01

Connect

A peer network across twelve countries — from the Global Young Leaders Summit in New York to the gates of Deerfield — and a seat at gatherings where Ireland's future is the agenda.

02

Contribute

Every event supports the work of The Ireland Funds — more than $750 million raised since 1976 for thousands of organisations across the island of Ireland.

03

Champion

Young Leaders champion the four pillars of the Funds' mission: peace and reconciliation, arts and culture, education, and community development.

The 2026 Young Leaders Series

Two evenings, one anniversary

In our 50th year, the Dublin Young Leaders present a series unlike any other — a conversation with one of Irish rugby's modern greats, and a launch night behind the gates of one of Dublin's most storied addresses.

Poster — In Conversation with Andrew Trimble
№ 012026 Young Leaders Series

In Conversation with Andrew Trimble

SpeakerAndrew Trimble
Ireland & Ulster rugby international · Co-founder, Kairos
DateWednesday 23 September 2026
Evening reception & talk
VenueThe Merrion Hotel
Upper Merrion Street, Dublin 2

An evening with one of Irish rugby's most thoughtful modern greats. Andrew Trimble won 70 caps on the wing for Ireland, lifted the 2014 Six Nations Championship and retired as Ulster's record appearance-holder — then co-founded Kairos, the Belfast sports-technology company acquired by Teamworks in 2024. A board member of The Ireland Funds Ireland, he joins the Dublin Young Leaders amid the Georgian splendour of The Merrion — four restored 1760s townhouses housing one of Ireland's great private art collections — to talk performance, pressure, faith and the business of the second act.

Reserve a placePosterTickets limited
Poster — An Evening at Deerfield
№ 022026 Young Leaders Series

An Evening at Deerfield

SpeakerGary McGann
Chairman, The Ireland Funds Ireland
DateDate to be announced
Strictly by invitation
VenueDeerfield Residence
Residence of the U.S. Ambassador, Phoenix Park

The launch of The Ireland Funds Dublin's anniversary year — an exclusive reception behind the gates of Deerfield, the official residence of the United States Ambassador to Ireland. Completed in 1776, the very year America declared its independence, the house was home to Ireland Funds co-founder Dan Rooney throughout his ambassadorship — and it was here that he hosted the Dublin Young Leaders in 2011. Gary McGann — Chair of The Ireland Funds Ireland, former Group CEO of Smurfit Kappa — delivers the keynote as the Funds' 50th year comes home to Dublin.

Request an invitationPosterBy invitation

2026 speakers

In conversation with

Andrew Trimble

Andrew Trimble

Rugby international & technology founder

Andrew Trimble made 70 appearances for Ireland and a then-record 229 for Ulster across thirteen professional seasons — winning the 2014 Six Nations Championship, Triple Crowns in 2006 and 2007, and Players' Player of the Year in 2014. Since retiring in 2018 he has co-founded Kairos, the Belfast sports-technology platform used by elite teams worldwide and acquired by US firm Teamworks in 2024, where he is now a Senior Director. He serves on the board of The Ireland Funds Ireland.

  • 70 Ireland caps
  • 2014 Six Nations champion
  • Co-founder, Kairos
  • Board, The Ireland Funds Ireland
Gary McGann

Gary McGann

Chairman, The Ireland Funds Ireland

One of the most experienced figures in Irish business, Gary McGann led Smurfit Kappa as Group CEO from 2002 to 2015 — transforming it into one of Ireland's true multinationals — having previously served as Chief Executive of Aer Lingus Group and Gilbeys of Ireland. He has chaired Paddy Power Betfair (now Flutter) and serves as Chair of Sicon Ltd (Sisk Group) and Aon Ireland. As Chair of The Ireland Funds Ireland, he is guiding the organisation into its 50th anniversary year.

  • Chairman, The Ireland Funds Ireland
  • Former Group CEO, Smurfit Kappa
  • Former CEO, Aer Lingus Group

1976 — 2026

Fifty years of progress

What began with two Pittsburgh businessmen — Tony O'Reilly and Dan Rooney — became the largest network of friends of Ireland in the world, with a simple trinity of goals: Peace, Culture and Charity.

1976Tony O'Reilly as a British & Irish Lion, 1959

A handshake in Pittsburgh

At the height of the Troubles, Tony O'Reilly and Pittsburgh Steelers owner Dan Rooney found The Ireland Fund — a constructive alternative for Irish-American giving, devoted to peace, culture and charity.

1981

Educating together

The Fund supports the creation of Lagan College, Belfast's very first integrated school. Today, thanks in part to The Ireland Funds, more than 70 integrated schools educate children of all traditions side by side.

1987

A St. Patrick's Day merger

The Ireland Fund merges with the American Irish Foundation — founded by President John F. Kennedy and President Éamon de Valera in 1963 — in a Washington ceremony recognised by President Reagan, becoming The American Ireland Fund.

2009Dan Rooney

Rooney goes to Deerfield

Co-founder Dan Rooney is appointed United States Ambassador to Ireland, taking residence at Deerfield in Phoenix Park — where he hosted the Dublin Young Leaders in 2011, and where our 2026 launch returns.

2010

Music for a generation

The Ireland Funds and U2 help establish Music Generation, which today gives young people across Ireland more than 100,000 opportunities a year to engage with music.

2015

Promising Ireland

Launched in the depths of the recession, the Promising Ireland campaign closes at $226 million — more than double its original goal — for over 900 Irish nonprofits.

2017

Remembering Dan Rooney

Dan Rooney passes away in Pittsburgh aged 84, leaving a legacy spanning six Super Bowls, the Rooney Rule, American diplomacy and four decades of Irish philanthropy.

2024

Remembering Tony O'Reilly

Sir Anthony O'Reilly — Lions legend, Heinz chairman and the driving force of Irish philanthropy worldwide — dies in Dublin, aged 88.

2026The gates of Deerfield Residence, Phoenix Park

Funds at 50

The Ireland Funds mark half a century of impact: over $750 million raised for thousands of organisations across twelve countries. In Dublin, the Young Leaders open the next chapter.

The Ireland Funds today

Philanthropy at scale

$750M+raised since 1976
3,000+organisations supported
12countries with chapters
50years of progress in 2026

The Ireland Funds' mission is to harness the power of a global philanthropic network of friends of Ireland to promote and support peace, culture, education and community development across the island of Ireland, and among Irish communities around the world.

Join us

Be part of the next fifty years

Membership of the Dublin Young Leaders is open to young professionals who care about the island of Ireland and its future. Fifty years in, this isn't just a milestone — it's a launching point. Join us for the 2026 series, and for everything that follows.

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