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November 21, 2005

UFV Victim Appeals to US


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News about Ireland and the Irish

UT 11/21/05 UVF Victim's Family In Appeal To US Counsel
BB 11/21805 Army Attack Accused Goes On Trial
IO 11/21/05 Hain Snubbed After 'Slur On Economy'
BB 11/21/05 Petrol Bomb Attack During Alert
IT 11/22/05 Number With 'No Religion' In North Increases
IT 11/22/05 Warning Over On-The-Runs Policy
UT 11/21/05 Bomb Survivor's Plea Over A&E Services
BB 11/21/05 Bans Follow Lennon Hanging Image
ES 11/21/05 Ireland Impasse No Longer A Threat To Peace
FT 11/21/05 Philanthropists Adopt A More Discerning Style

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http://www.utvlive.com/newsroom/indepth.asp?id=67403&pt=n

UVF Murder Victim's Family In Appeal To US Counsel

Murdered Belfast man Craig McCausland's family today took
their fight for justice to the US Government.

By:Press association

Relatives of the 20-year-old, shot dead by the Ulster
Volunteer Force in July, held talks with Dean Pittman, the
administration`s Consul General in Northern Ireland.

They urged him to help put pressure on Northern Ireland
Secretary Peter Hain, claiming little has been done to hunt
down the killers.

Mr McCausland`s cousin, Nichola McIlvenny, said: "We have
several questions we want to put to Mr Hain, but he has
said it`s the wrong time to meet with the family.

"The Government doesn`t seem to be doing anything, and this
is about taking it elsewhere until we get justice.

"Hopefully talking to Dean Pittman will put a bit of
pressure on Mr Hain to meet with us.

"It`s about raising awareness with people from the US and
their representatives here."

Mr McCausland was murdered by gunmen who burst into his
partner`s home in the Woodvale district of north Belfast on
July 11.

Although detectives have made arrests, no-one has been
charged with the killing.

It was one of four during the summer linked to the UVF`s
feud with the splinter Loyalist Volunteer Force.

But the victim`s family have strenuously denied he had any
connections with the LVF.

In a tragic twist, Mr McCausland, who left behind a two-
year-old son Dean, was an infant himself when loyalist
terrorists murdered his mother.

Lorraine McCausland, 23, was beaten to death with a breeze
block near an Ulster Defence Association drinking club in
1987.

Ms McIlvenny, a youth and community worker, said history
was repeating itself.

"The injustices on both generations go unpunished," she
claimed.

"Do these terrorist organisations operate with impunity?

"Forty five minutes after Craig`s murder they returned into
the area to make another attempt on a young man`s life and
managed to escape undetected."

Ms McIlvenny also alleged Mr Hain only named and shamed the
UVF by declaring its ceasefire was in tatters after
loyalist paramilitaries rioted on the streets of Belfast in
September.

She added: "The UVF were only specified after they opened
fire on the PSNI, they weren`t specified after four
murders."

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http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/4457626.stm

Army Attack Accused Goes On Trial

A Belfastman who was on the run accused of bombing Northern
Ireland's Army headquarters in County Antrim has gone on
trial.

Michael Gerard Rogan was arrested in Tenerife in October
2004 and extradited back to Northern Ireland.

The 45-year-old, from Easton Avenue in Belfast, is charged
with conspiring to cause explosions at Thiepval Barracks,
Lisburn, in 1996.

A soldier was killed and 33 other people were injured in
the IRA attack.

The accused was granted bail in November 1997, but failed
to appear back in court and a warrant was issued for his
arrest.

On Monday, Belfast Crown Court was told Mr Rogan supplied
the two Volvo cars used in the bomb attacks.

He denies causing the two explosions and two further
charges of collecting information useful to terrorists.

'Computer files'

Trial judge Mr Justice McLaughlin was told it was the
prosecution case that Mr Rogan paid almost £9,000 for the
two cars used in the bombings.

A prosecution lawyer alleged that between April 1994 and
the following February, Mr Rogan collected information on
prison staff and members of the security forces from the
records of private healthcare company BUPA.

The lawyer said the defendant, using false documentation,
began working for BUPA, giving him access to computer files
with details on prison staff and members of the security
forces.

The Crown case is that computer printouts and discs taken
from BUPA were later uncovered in a search of Mr Rogan's
home and another address.

The accused's fingerprints were found on some of the
documents, said the prosecution.

Story from BBC NEWS:
Published: 2005/11/21 16:45:12 GMT
© BBC MMV

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http://www.online.ie/News/News.aspx?newsId=130053

Hain Snubbed After 'Slur On Economy'

The Rev Ian Paisley's Democratic Unionists today snubbed
Peter Hain by withdrawing an invitation to the Northern
Ireland Secretary to address their councillors.

The party's Fermanagh and South Tyrone Assembly member
Arlene Foster said the move followed comments from Mr Hain
last week in the United States advocating an all-Ireland
economy.

The Northern Ireland Secretary was quoted in an Irish
American newspaper saying Northern Ireland's economy was
not sustainable in the long run.

The cabinet minister was reported to have told the New
York-based Irish Echo: "In future decades, it is going to
be increasingly difficult to look at the economy of north
and south except as a sort of island of Ireland economy.

"We are deepening north-south co-operation in a number of
areas.

"The Northern Ireland economy, though it is doing better
than ever in its history, is not sustainable in the long-
term.

"I don't want the Northern Ireland economy to be a
dependent economy as it is now, with a sort of UK 'big
brother' umbrella over it. It needs to be much more self-
sufficient, so that's what we're trying to do."

The comments have infuriated unionists, with DUP leader the
Rev Ian Paisley demanding Mr Hain's resignation and former
Ulster Unionist devolved minister Michael McGimpsey
accusing him of stabbing Northern Ireland in the back.

Sinn Féin and the nationalist SDLP, however, have welcomed
the comments.

Arlene Foster, the vice chair of the DUP councillors'
association, accused Mr Hain of an unacceptable slur on
Northern Ireland and its economy.

"In one comment he has done unquantifiable damage to the
prospects of attracting inward investment to Northern
Ireland, undermined the work of Invest Northern Ireland and
insulted the efforts of the province's (sic) business
community," the DUP Assembly member argued.

"What is worse is that the Secretary of State's remarks
were factually inaccurate.

"Northern Ireland is the fastest growing region within the
United Kingdom, enjoys unemployment levels that are at an
all time low and has attracted in excess of 15,000 jobs
from American companies over the last decade.

"Things might be far from perfect with a decline in
manufacturing and an over dependence upon the public
sector, but neither are we some economic backwater."

Mrs Foster said the remarks also defied logic.

She asked how two separate sovereign states could integrate
their economies when they had two different currencies and
two different tax systems.

"Maybe the Secretary of State is advocating ever greater
European political integration and UK entry into the Euro?"
the Fermanagh and South Tyrone MLA said.

"It also fails to make sense for an economy such as
Northern Ireland's to move closer to the Irish Republic
with its market of just four million people instead of
remaining with and developing further our links with the
rest of the UK and its potential market of well over 50
million."

Mrs Foster said the councillors' association had in a bid
to raise issues effecting them and their constituents asked
the minister to address their association.

She confirmed: "That invitation has now been revoked and
will remain as such so long as the Secretary of State
sticks by his statement to the Irish Echo.

"Mr Hain has degraded Northern Ireland's economy to an
international audience and he cannot expect us to just
accept his words as if they mean nothing."

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http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/4458322.stm

Petrol Bomb Attack During Alert

Police came under petrol bomb attack

At least 10 petrol bombs have been thrown at police
officers during a security alert in Londonderry.

Army technical officers examined a suspicious object in the
city's Fahan Street. It was declared a hoax after a
controlled explosion was carried out.

The object was discovered at about 1800 GMT on Monday.
About 13 families moved from their homes have now returned.

Police were also attacked with bottles, stones and other
missiles by youths and several police vehicles were
damaged.

Meanwhile, the Army is examining a suspicious object found
at the front of a house in the Dunvale area of the Dunclug
estate in Ballymena.

They were called in after reports of a loud bang.

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http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/ireland/2005/1122/3258781752HM8RELIGION.html

Number With 'No Religion' In North Increases

Gerry Moriarty, Northern Editor

One in nine people in Northern Ireland now view
themselves as having no religion, a new study has found.

It says that 11.5 per cent of the 1.7 million population
see themselves as having no religion. This puts 193,500
people in the non-religion category.

"The results show that secularisation has progressed as far
in Northern Ireland as anywhere else, despite the religious
nature of the society," said the Australian author of the
study, Prof Ian McAllister.

"If this trend continues secularisation will represent the
second or third largest group in Northern Ireland society
by the time of the next census in 2011," he added.

The evidence indicates that "disaffection with politics" is
the reason for the growth in this secular group, according
to the report published by ARK - the Northern Ireland
Social and Political Archive - which is a joint initiative
between Queen's University and the University of Ulster.

Citing a variety of recent reports, Prof McAllister found
that those with no religion are more likely to come from
Protestant rather than Catholic families. He also found
that there had been a "significant decline" in church
attendance among Catholics.

In the 1980s two-thirds of Catholics and Protestants
attended a religious weekly service but by 2000 that figure
was down to 50 per cent. In 1989, 90 per cent of Catholics
went to Mass once a week but that has now dropped to around
65 per cent.

The findings however do not necessarily indicate a trend
away from traditional unionist and nationalist politics.
"The results indicate strong support for the view that
disaffection from politics has been a motivation to reject
religion.

However, this move towards secularisation does not suggest
a reduced role in politics for religion," said Prof
McAllister.

"In particular, people who are the most religious are often
the most politically active, and so exert the most
influence on parties and politicians. If secularisation is
to have any impact on the political process, those who see
themselves as secular will have to re-enter politics and
influence it from within," he added.

Prof McAllister is based at the Research School of Social
Sciences, Australian National University. He received
funding from the Nuffield Foundation for this project to
work with ARK in 2004/5 and carried out the research while
based at Queen's University, Belfast.

The report uses a pooled dataset, combining the Northern
Ireland social attitudes surveys (1989-1996), the Northern
Ireland life and times surveys (1998-2004), the 1998
Northern Ireland referendum and election survey and the
2003 Northern Ireland election study.

© The Irish Times

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http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/ireland/2005/1122/2741905116HM8OTRS.html

Warning Over On-The-Runs Policy

Frank Millar, London Editor

The Conservatives have opened a fresh assault on the
Blair government's controversial "OTR" (on-the-runs)
legislation for dealing with paramilitary fugitives -
warning that key elements of it could be in breach of the
European Convention on Human Rights.

The warning, from Northern Ireland spokesman David
Lidington, coincided with a statement by the London-based
British Irish Rights Watch expressing its concern that the
Northern Ireland Offences Bill - due to receive its second
reading in the Commons tomorrow - would allow agents of the
state guilty of collusion with loyalist terrorists to avoid
being held to account for their crimes.

Mr Lidington last night raised the possibility that it was
precisely this aspect of the new bill that might eventually
face a legal challenge in the European Court.

The government has been hoping the inclusion of the
security forces in the scope of the new legislation might
alleviate unionist opposition to a scheme they and a cross-
party coalition of opponents regard as "an effective
amnesty" for OTRs and others, loyalist and republican, in
respect of crimes committed prior to the Belfast Agreement.

Mr Lidington has been critical of the plan to extend the
provisions of the bill to cover members of the security
forces in respect of crimes committed in relation to
terrorism in Northern Ireland, whether or not committed in
pursuit of terrorist goals. He and Conservative deputy
leader Michael Ancram have argued that the proposed
"equivalence" between terrorist organisations and the
legitimate forces of the state marks a reversal of British
policy as maintained over the past 35 years.

Opening his new line of attack, however, Mr Lidington said
that if the legal opinions he was receiving proved correct
then "the assurances [Secretary of State] Peter Hain is
trying to give unionists would be completely meaningless".

The possibility raised by Mr Lidington is that republican
and loyalist paramilitaries would benefit from the passage
of the legislation, with a successful legal challenge only
subsequently establishing that its provisions could not be
extended to members of the security forces. In his
introduction to the bill Mr Hain insists that its
provisions are human-rights compatible.

The SDLP's Alex Atwood welcomed yesterday's statement by
British Irish Rights Watch, saying they had "hit the nail
on the head" and warning: "The British government are
getting this badly wrong if they believe there can be
reconciliation if the truth of state and paramilitary
killings is suppressed."

Meanwhile, The Irish Times has learned that the SDLP has
asked for a meeting with Taoiseach Bertie Ahern to discuss
its fears about ongoing discussions between the British and
community-based groups about restorative justice schemes in
the North.

© The Irish Times

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http://www.utvlive.com/newsroom/indepth.asp?id=67402&pt=n

Monday 21/11/2005 16:28:33

Bomb Survivor's Plea Over A&E Services

Tony Blair is to be lobbied by six members of the Stormont
Assembly and an Omagh bomb survivor this week to retain
accident and emergency services in a Co Tyrone hospital, it
emerged tonight.

By:Press Association

West Tyrone`s six MLAs are to travel to Downing Street on
Thursday along with 28-year-old Donna Marie McGillion, who
was injured in the 1998 Real IRA bomb attack, to petition
the Prime Minister to keep the services at Tyrone County
Hospital in Omagh.

The delegation will also comprise of Sinn Fein`s Pat
Doherty and Barry McElduff, independent MLA Dr Kieran
Deeny, the DUP`s Tom Buchanan, the nationalist SDLP`s
Eugene McMenamin and the UUP`s Derek Hussey.

Campaigners for Tyrone Hospital said the delegation would
show united opposition to the proposed closure of accident
and emergency services by Northern Ireland Office Health
Minister, Shaun Woodward.

A statement said: "Mr Woodward`s actions have united the
people of Tyrone unlike any other issue.

"There is unprecedented cross-community opposition to his
proposals. Every single elected representative, every
church and every community group, regardless of politics,
religion, race, creed or colour stand united against the
proposals to remove accident & emergency and other life
saving services from Tyrone County Hospital.

"On this historic day the people of Tyrone send their clear
and powerful message. For the first time in history we are
here together - you must listen to us, otherwise there is
no justice and no value in the word democracy.

"This is democracy speaking. We have no other voice.

"We have overcome all the division in our society, because
we need this so badly. We need A&E in Tyrone. You (the
Prime Minister) promised us this in the dark days of 1998
and today we are here together, to remind you of your
promise."

Last week after talks with representatives from the
Department of Health, the Western Health and Social
Services Board and the Sperrin Lakeland Trust, Sinn Fein`s
Pat Doherty claimed he could see a way of retaining a 24-
hour accident and emergency service.

The West Tyrone MP has also compiled a dossier arising from
the discussions calling for:

:: A clinical decision unit at the Tyrone County Hospital.

:: Eight acute medical beds.

:: Full on-site diagnostics, radiology, CT Bloods, ECG etc.

:: The retention of all acute medicine at the hospital.

:: Telemedicine links to regional and local hospitals.

:: Inpatient acute psychiatric services.

:: The hospital to be made a regional centre of excellence
for elective day surgery, to include ENT, urology.

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http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/4457202.stm

Bans Follow Lennon Hanging Image

The operators of an independent Rangers supporters website
have banned three members after a cartoon depicting a
hanging Celtic footballer was posted.

A cartoon of midfielder Neil Lennon appeared on the Follow
Follow website.

The site's editor described the posting as "juvenile" and
said it was removed when it came to his attention.

Mark Dingwall said he could not prove it but two people
believed to be involved were Celtic supporters and one was
a Rangers fan.

Offensive posts

He said: "Juvenile posts of this nature are removed when
brought to our attention or become the subject of a warning
to users.

"In this thread a public warning was issued to all users to
desist from making or responding to offensive posts.

"Three users involved in the thread have been banned from
the website.

"Two of those banned appear to be Celtic fans, one appears
to be a Rangers fan."

Anti-sectarian campaigner, Donald Gorrie MSP, said although
the message was childish and distasteful, it was vital to
clamp down on such behaviour.

Supporter reputations will be tarnished and I think it is
in their interest to get the thing sorted out

Donald Gorrie MSP

Lennon played in Celtic's 3-0 victory over Rangers on
Saturday.

The cartoon, which depicted the footballer being hung from
a scaffold, carried a caption with the words "Hang Neil
Lennon, hang him high"."

Speaking to BBC Radio's Scotland Live programme, Mr Gorrie
said: "I do think there has to be a clear boundary that
people do not go across without getting into serious
trouble.

"It doesn't do the two football clubs, or the supporters
associations, any good.

"People will think they are all a complete lot of bampots -
rather than just a few bampots and a lot of decent people
who support a particular club."

Sectarian slogans

Mr Gorrie added: "Supporter reputations will be tarnished
and I think it is in their interest to get the thing sorted
out."

Footymad, which runs the Follow Follow site, said it acted
to remove the image when it came to its attention.

Lennon has been the target of sectarian abuse in the past.

Last year vandals sprayed "You are a dead man Lennon" along
with sectarian slogans outside his Glasgow home.

The 32-year-old Catholic quit as a Northern Ireland
international in 2002 after a death threat.

The Follow Follow website describes itself as an
independent online Glasgow Rangers fanzine.

Story from BBC NEWS:
Published: 2005/11/21 18:20:29 GMT
© BBC MMV

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http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2005-11/esr-nip112105.php

Public release date: 21-Nov-2005

Contact: William Godwin
william.godwin@esrc.ac.uk

44-179-341-3122

Economic & Social Research Council

Northern Ireland Political Impasse 'No Longer Such A Threat To Peace'

The peace and political processes in Northern Ireland have
become disconnected, according to new research funded by
the ESRC.

As a result, the impasse in the political process is no
longer seen as automatically jeopardising the province's
relative peace, says the study led by Professor Adrian
Guelke of Queen's University of Belfast.

Though there are still concerns that the high level of non-
lethal violence in Northern Ireland is being disregarded,
there has been a sharp fall in political killings.

The study points, in particular, to the importance of the
international dimension on the current situation, and says
that ordinary people and grassroots groups have been
crucial in changing local situations.

In fact, according to Dr Christopher Farrington, of
University College, Dublin - a member of the research team
and author of the report - in trying to stop violence and
deal with the effects of paramilitary feuds, people
involved locally frequently see politicians as a hindrance
rather than a help.

International opinion inversely affects Republicans as
international changes and developments influence their
decisions on political strategies, says the study, whereas
this is not the case for other political players in the
province. However, international opinion is no longer seen
as acting in a partisan way, in favour of Republicans and
Nationalists.

Republicans have been more sensitive to the events of 9/11
and their aftermath than other political groups.
Researchers found broad acceptance, including among
Unionists, that the events in New York had narrowed the
Republican movement's options, making any return to the
Provisional IRA's long war counter-productive and highly
improbable.

Recent steps taken by the Republican movement, including
announcing the end of the armed struggle and de-
commissioning their weapons, underscore this point. The
study included in-depth and informal interviews with a wide
range of politicians, community group leaders, activists,
and members of think-tanks and of the civic forum. Two
conferences brought them together with academics to present
and discuss the findings.

Professor Guelke said: "We found concern that fixing the
political process will not prove sufficient by itself to
move Northern Ireland beyond its current cold peace. "This
coldness has shown itself in increased social segregation
and the political polarisation of the two communities."

Creation of a Northern Ireland free of paramilitary
activity is unlikely in the medium term, says the report.
One fear expressed was that it might develop into a mafia
society because of the paramilitaries' continuing
involvement in crime. The Belfast Agreement did not resolve
the tensions brought by a shared power approach to
government. However, establishing new institutions, such as
the Assembly, along with restructuring of the civil service
and departments, has changed the context for the various
activists and representatives in the wider community.

Along with the setting up of the Northern Ireland Human
Rights Commission and Equality Commission, the Belfast
Agreement altered the institutional and political
environment in a way which affected how local community
activists and others could influence the political process.

Professor Guelke said: "Most grassroots action groups
interpret their impact at a local and individual level, and
do not necessarily see any dialogue between the top-down
political process and the bottom-up peace building.

"Largely, they are focussed on social and policy issues,
and these were their main concerns during direct rule. The
Agreement shifted policy-making to the new institutions in
Northern Ireland, and so changed the avenues to political
influence which these people had been using for decades."

Researchers found very little evidence that the new
structures had been able to reduce communal conflict or
respond to new types of violence.

###

For further information, contact:

Professor Adrian Guelke on 02890 973658 (office), 02890
322029 (home) or e-mail: a.guelke@qub.ac.uk

Or Alexandra Saxon or Will Godwin at ESRC, on 01793
413032/413122

NOTES FOR EDITORS

1. The research project 'Interpreting ongoing crises in the
Northern Ireland Peace Process' was funded by the Economic
and Social Research Council (ESRC). Professor Guelke is at
the School of Politics and International Studies, Queen's
University of Belfast, BELFAST BT7 1NN.

2. Methodology: The research included more than 30 semi-
structured, in-depth interviews, as well as observer
participation and informal interviews with politicians,
community group leaders, activists, members of think-tanks
and of the civic forum and others. Two conferences were
held in which they came together as presenters and
participants to disseminate the findings.

3. The ESRC is the UK's largest funding agency for research
and postgraduate training relating to social and economic
issues. It provides independent, high quality, relevant
research to business, the public sector and Government. The
ESRC will invest more than £123million this year in social
science and at any time is supporting some 2,000
researchers in academic institutions and research policy
institutes. It also funds postgraduate training within the
social sciences to nurture the researchers of tomorrow.
More at http://www.esrcsocietytoday.ac.uk

4. ESRC Society Today offers free access to a broad range
of social science research and presents it in a way that
makes it easy to navigate and saves users valuable time. As
well as bringing together all ESRC-funded research
(formerly accessible via the Regard website) and key online
resources such as the Social Science Information Gateway
and the UK Data Archive, non-ESRC resources are included,
for example the Office for National Statistics. The portal
provides access to early findings and research summaries,
as well as full texts and original datasets through
integrated search facilities. More at
http://www.esrcsocietytoday.ac.uk

5. The ESRC confirms the quality of its funded research by
evaluating research projects through a process of peer
review. This research has been graded as 'good'.

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http://news.ft.com/cms/s/a9eb9a7a-59e3-11da-b023-0000779e2340.html

Philanthropists Adopt A More Discerning Style

By John Murray Brown

Published: November 20 2005 17:23 Last updated: November
20 2005 17:23

Many Irish people have been far too busy making money in
the past few years to consider going to business school to
be taught how to make money.

But there are signs that more are starting to acknowledge
the value of a business school education. Last month there
were two important developments. Trinity College, Dublin,
announced it was linking up with the Irish Management
Institute to create a new graduate school, which it said
would be ranked in the top 25 in the world within the
decade. Meanwhile, Dublin City University formally opened
its Tony Ryan Academy for Entrepreneurship, named after the
founder of Ryanair, the low-cost airline.

In some ways the two initiatives illustrate rival trends.
Trinity, in much the same way as Oxford University did when
it transferred the executive short courses run from
Templeton College to Said Business School to create a
central source of management education in Oxford, believes
it is better served harnessing its academic and research
clout to a better-endowed private sector management
institute.

An immediate advantage is that the new school will have
much financial freedom to hire the teachers and lecturers
it wants, as it will no longer be so constrained by civil
service pay guidelines which otherwise apply to university
employees.

The DCU academy on the other hand is a throwback to an
earlier model of business school, one named after, branded
and financed by a well-known local business personality, a
model popular in the US.

"I didn't have any particular ambition to have my name on
the top of a building, but I think Ireland could benefit
from a college like this. And I think it can derive benefit
from the Ryanair aura, for want of a better word, which has
a strong relationship with young people here and on the
continent," says Mr Ryan.

Mr Ryan's association with DCU is typical of many self-made
business people who feel they want to give something back
to society.

Sir Michael Smurfit, Ireland's paper and packaging
millionaire, was in many ways the pioneer with his €6m
(£4.1m) donation to University College Dublin to establish
the Michael Smurfit Graduate School of Business.

Lochlann Quinn, a former chairman of Allied Irish Banks,
contributed €5m to found the Quinn School of Business for
undergraduates, also part of UCD.

On a smaller scale, a number of individuals have sponsored
chairs of business studies such as Philip Berber, a US
businessman educated at DCU, who sold his online brokerage
company to Charles Schwab for €500m just before the dotcom
crash of 2001. He also gave €100m to set up a charity to
help the poor in Ethiopia.

"There's actually not much else you can do with €100m which
is tax efficient except give it away," says Tom McCarthy,
the chief executive of the Irish Management Institute.

Fundraising may be a big part of the financing of larger
business schools, but Damien McLoughlin, chief executive of
the Smurfit school, says that he does not even budget for
donations.

"I was at Stanford recently and was told they relied on
donations for 50 per cent of their funding. I don't think
we have any such ambition," he says.

The names of the Smurfit Business schools donors are given
pride of place in the entrance hall, displayed on honours
boards on removable panels rather like a squash club ladder
but arranged in order of the size of the donation.

"Irish-Americans are also starting to question whether
Ireland really needs continued financial support. It was
easy a few years ago. But now people say, 'well hang on,
isn't Ireland meant to be Europe's fastest-growing
economy?'", says Mr McLoughlin.

Those who do contribute are more discerning. John Murray,
professor of business studies at Trinity, says: "You no
longer get money from benefactors just by appealing to them
to support the old sod. A lot of corporate benefactors
today want a more programmatic approach." All agree that
fundraising will get harder rather than easier.

Most Irish schools are either not old enough or large
enough to have a community of rich alumni ready to support
them. Mr McLoughlin says that among Ireland's new rich the
habits of philanthropy are not well-developed, although he
acknowledges the big-name donors such as Sir Michael or Mr
Ryan can encourage others.

At DCU, Mr Ryan's three sons, Cathal, Declan and Shane,
have donated €7m to build the new school, an ­eye-catching
building on a site donated by the developers of the
Citywest Business Campus, just outside Dublin.

Mr Ryan is committing an additional €10m to support a
bursary for those who cannot afford the fees.

"I don't want to lead with my chin on this, but I wouldn't
have any problem picking up the fees for some young people,
provided they could prove in a clinical hard-headed way
that they should be there," he says.

Part of the deal allowed the three sons to claim tax relief
for the amount of the donation. But as a result, the
academy will not be able to seek public money.

"I hope the business model is robust enough. I think it is
important that the academy is entrepreneurial too, and
doesn't depend on subsidies," says Mr Ryan.

The inspiration for the academy was the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology's Entrepreneurship ­Centre run by
Kenneth Morse. Mr Morse is on the academy's advisory panel
and is helping DCU find a director.

"MIT is business networking at its best. They bring in the
leading chief executives to talk to the students. They
bring in the investment banks to look at what's going on
and the banks are always curious as to who is going to be
the next Bill Gates," says Mr Ryan.

Mr Ryan says that before he looked at the work of the
centre at MIT, he was sceptical that entrepreneurship could
be taught. But he does acknowledge it will be difficult to
structure business courses to produce the entrepreneurs of
the future in what is a rapidly changing economy.

"This was a plan devised several years ago. If you had had
an idea then to set up a school for, say, property
entrepreneurship, you'd have been left with an empty
building by now because everyone would be out there doing
it."

----
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