The International Fund for Ireland was never conceived as a permanent funding mechanism. While it has always been accepted that reconciliation on the island of Ireland will be a slow process, extending over many decades, the Fund recognises that international support cannot be maintained indefinitely. In the period up to 2010, the Fund will work to identify and fund projects that will have a long-term and sustainable impact on peace building and integration in Northern Ireland and the southern border counties.

The Leaving a Legacy Programme is also concerned with ensuring that the lessons, experiences and skills acquired over more than 23 years of peace building are handed on. The Fund’s wide range of programmes will focus on achieving measurable reconciliation within and between communities. Cross-border and cross-community programmes will be the hallmark of the Fund’s work and the Fund will continue to ensure that its support helps to leverage funds from other sources. This Programme is not open to applications.

For more information on the Leaving a Legacy Programme, please contact:

Northern Ireland:
Northern Ireland Rural Development Council
17 Loy Street
Cookstown
BT80 8PD
Tel: + 44 (0) 28 8676 6980
Fax: +44 (0) 28 8676 6922
E-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Ireland:
International Fund for Ireland
PO Box 2000
Dublin 2
Tel: + 353 (1) 408 2130
Fax: + 353 (1) 470 5407

Case Study:

Greenhill YMCA National Outdoor Centre, Newcastle, County Down Although the YMCA organisation has changed considerably since it was founded 160 years ago, the focus of its work has remained on youth development. Read full story

International Programme

Israeli-Palestinian visit pictured on a recent visit to Northern Ireland, Mr Daniel Taub and Dr. Sufian Abu Zaida, from the Israeli-Palestinian Joint Committee (Culture of Peace) who met with Fund Chairman, Denis Rooney CBE and Alexander Smith, Joint Director General of the International Fund for Ireland to discuss a number of Fund supported projects. Mr Rooney and Mr Smith used the meeting to outline the work of the Fund and its strategy to 2010 which includes sharing its experience and expertise with peace builders in countries coming out of conflict.

In 2006, the Board of the International Fund for Ireland published a revised strategic framework for action covering the years 2006–2010.  In addition to signalling the main shifts in emphasis and direction for programmes, the Fund also indicated in section 8 of the strategy document, an intention to share the experiences of the Fund and also the expertise gained over its 20 years of operation with other regions emerging from conflict situations similar to those of Northern Ireland.

This new venture was, to some extent, a reflection of the growing confidence in the progress of the peace process in Northern Ireland.  For years, the view of successive Boards of the International Fund for Ireland was that it would be unwise to publicise widely some of the valuable work undertaken by community groups and by individuals in promoting reconciliation in their local areas.  The concern was that the publicity would be counter productive.  By 2006 there was a growing feeling that the time had come for the Fund to offer its story, experiences and expertise to a wider audience, and in particular to regions experiencing conflict and political instability.

From a low base, and in a fairly measured way, the Fund has, over the last three years shared its expertise with a number of groups and delegations from around the world.  Some of the groups we have met with during their visits to Belfast and Dublin and other groups we have joined overseas.  These activities have included meeting with groups from:

• Iraq
• Sri Lanka
• Croatia
• Israel/Palestine
• East Timor

Croation President visit pictured left to right are Denis Rooney CBE, Chairman of the International Fund for Ireland; June Trimble, Director of YouthAction NI; Cllr Bernie Kelly, Deputy Lord Mayor of Belfast; Mr Stjepan Mesic, President of Croatia; Dr Ann Marie Gray, Vice-Chairman of YouthAction NI and David Gould, Chair of YouthAction NI.

Most of these groups met with the Chairman and Joint Directors General and were provided with a comprehensive briefing on the range of the Fund’s programmes and operational structures.   

In July 2008, the Fund published and circulated widely a booklet entitled “Effective Peace Building”.  This publication details much of the information shared with the groups from the regions listed above.

In 2009, the Northern Joint Director General responded to a request to the Board from the Alliance for Middle East Peace (ALLMEP) to participate in an international conference in Washington DC arranged by ALLMEP to further their initiative to establish an International Fund for Israeli–Palestinian Peace along similar lines to the International Fund for Ireland.  This work is ongoing.

More recently in July 2009, the Fund met with representatives from Cyprus who are similarly interested in applying the processes and approaches used by the Fund to advance the situation in Cyprus.  This work is ongoing at present.

While the Fund is unable to make available financial assistance to groups from overseas it remains the intention of the Board to share our expertise and experience in making financial interventions to promote peace and reconciliation in regions experiencing conflict.

For more information, click here to download the Effective Peace Building booklet.