The Global Irish Economic Forum was a conference held in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

in 2009 and 2011. Inspired by the

World Economic Forum The World Economic Forum (WEF) is an international non-governmental organization, international advocacy non-governmental organization and think tank, based in Cologny, Canton of Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded on 24 January 1971 by German ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

, international figures from the worlds of business and culture attend the event. The first Forum was held at Farmleigh in

Phoenix Park The Phoenix Park () is a large urban park in Dublin, Ireland, lying west of the city centre, north of the River Liffey. Its perimeter wall encloses of recreational space. It includes large areas of grassland and tree-lined avenues, and since ...

from 18 to 20 September 2009, and was given widespread coverage by

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, ...

. The second forum was held at

Dublin Castle Dublin Castle () is a major Government of Ireland, Irish government complex, conference centre, and tourist attraction. It is located off Dame Street in central Dublin. It is a former motte-and-bailey castle and was chosen for its position at ...

in 2011.

Background

The idea for the Forum was conceived by economist David McWilliams who then informed the Irish Government. The hosting of the event caused a political disagreement between Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs

Micheál Martin Micheál Martin (; born 16 August 1960) is an Irish Fianna Fáil politician serving as Taoiseach since January 2025, having previously held the position from 2020 to 2022. Martin served as Tánaiste, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Min ...

and

Tánaiste The Tánaiste ( , ) is the second-ranking member of the government of Ireland and the holder of its second-most senior office. It is the equivalent of the deputy prime minister in other parliamentary systems. The Tánaiste is appointed by the P ...

and

Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment The Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment () is a senior minister in the Government of Ireland and leads the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment. The current Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment is Peter Burk ...

Mary Coughlan. The

Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military * Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

sought successful members of the

Irish diaspora The Irish diaspora () refers to ethnic Irish people and their descendants who live outside the island of Ireland. The phenomenon of migration from Ireland is recorded since the Early Middle Ages,Flechner, Roy; Meeder, Sven (2017). The Irish ...

, with

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 ...

personally inviting them to attend the event in April. However, Martin claimed that the "global Irish family" was his department's responsibility. Martin launched the event on the afternoon of 1 September 2009.

Guests

Guests pay their own expenses. Attendees have come from

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

Britain Britain most often refers to: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

, the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

and

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

. Michael O'Leary was notably absent because of his lack of popularity with the Irish Government. In alphabetical order, notable guests with international connections include: * Craig Barrett, former CEO of

Intel Corporation Intel Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Santa Clara, California, and incorporated in Delaware. Intel designs, manufactures, and sells computer components such as central processing ...

* Loretta Brennan-Glucksman, chairperson of The American Ireland Fund * John Collison, Limerick-born entrepreneur * Kip Condron, CEO of AXA Financial * Tom Corcoran, senior adviser with the

Carlyle Group The Carlyle Group Inc. is an American multinational company with operations in private equity, alternative asset management and financial services. As of 2023, the company had $426 billion of assets under management. Carlyle specializes in ...

Dermot Desmond Dermot Desmond (born 14 August 1950) is an Irish businessman and financier. He is estimated to be worth €2.04 billion and is ranked by the '' Sunday Independent'' as the ninth-richest person in Ireland. Early life and education Desmond was ...

, financier, entrepreneur and major shareholder of

Celtic F.C. The Celtic Football Club, commonly known as Celtic (), is a professional Association football, football club in Glasgow, Scotland. The team competes in the Scottish Premiership, the top division of Scottish football league system, Scottish ...

* Moya Doherty, producer of

Riverdance ''Riverdance'' is a theatrical show that consists mainly of traditional Irish music and dance. With a score composed by Bill Whelan, it originated as an interval act during the Eurovision Song Contest 1994, featuring Irish dancing champions J ...

and director of Tyrone Productions * Irial Finan,

Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a cola soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. In 2013, Coke products were sold in over 200 countries and territories worldwide, with consumers drinking more than 1.8 billion company beverage servings ...

* John Fitzpatrick, chief executive of Fitzpatrick Hotel Group *

Bob Geldof Robert Frederick Zenon Geldof (; born 5 October 1951) is an Irish singer-songwriter and political activist. He rose to prominence in the late 1970s as the lead singer of the Irish rock band the Boomtown Rats, who achieved popularity as part ...

, political activist and former rock star * Basil Geoghegan, managing director of

Deutsche Bank Deutsche Bank AG (, ) is a Germany, German multinational Investment banking, investment bank and financial services company headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany, and dual-listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange. ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

* James Hogan, CEO of

Etihad Airways Etihad Airways is one of the two flag carriers of the United Arab Emirates (the other being Emirates). Its head office is in Khalifa City, Abu Dhabi, near Zayed International Airport. The airline commenced operations in November 2003, and ...

* PJ Hough, corporate vice president of

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company, technology conglomerate headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975, the company became influential in the History of personal computers#The ear ...

Neil Jordan Neil Patrick Jordan (born 25 February 1950) is an Irish filmmaker and writer. He first achieved recognition for his short story collection, ''Night in Tunisia (short story collection), Night in Tunisia,'' which won the Guardian Fiction Prize in ...

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

-winning film director * Alan Joyce, CEO of

Qantas Qantas ( ), formally Qantas Airways Limited, is the flag carrier of Australia, and the largest airline by fleet size, international flights, and international destinations in Australia and List of largest airlines in Oceania, Oceania. A foundi ...

* Declan Kelly, director of American Ireland Fund * Gerald Lawless, Jumeirah group * Myles Lee,

CRH plc CRH plc is an international group of diversified building materials businesses whose headquarters is in Dublin, Ireland. It manufactures and supplies a wide range of products for the construction industry. The group was formed through a 1970 m ...

Pearse Lyons Thomas Pearse Lyons (3 August 1944 – 8 March 2018) was an Irish businessman and the founder and President of Kentucky-based Alltech Inc., an American animal health and nutrition company that is centred on innovation, research and development. ...

, founder and president of Alltech of Nicholasville, Kentucky, USA, which is the name sponsor of

Muhammad Ali Muhammad Ali (; born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.; January 17, 1942 – June 3, 2016) was an American professional boxer and social activist. A global cultural icon, widely known by the nickname "The Greatest", he is often regarded as the gr ...

's charity in

Louisville Louisville is the most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeast, and the 27th-most-populous city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 24th-largest city; however, by populatio ...

* Bob McCann, former head of

Merrill Lynch Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated, doing business as Merrill, and previously branded Merrill Lynch, is an American investment management and wealth management division of Bank of America. Along with BofA Securities, the investm ...

's brokerage business * Stan McCarthy, Kerry Group * Brendan McDonagh, CEO of HSBC North America * Paul McGuinness, manager of U2 *

Denis O'Brien Denis O'Brien (born 19 April 1958) is an Irish billionaire businessman, and the founder and owner of Digicel. He was listed among the World's Top 200 Billionaires in 2015 and was Ireland's richest native-born citizen for several years. His bus ...

, chairman of

Digicel Digicel is a Jamaican-based Caribbean mobile phone network and home entertainment provider operating in 25 markets worldwide. Digicel has operated in several countries, including Guyana, Fiji, Haiti, Trinidad and Tobago, Samoa, St. Lucia, Surinam ...

* Liam O'Mahony, chairman of Smurfit Kappa * Gerry Robinson, former chairman of

Allied Domecq Allied Domecq PLC was a multinational company, headquartered in Bristol, United Kingdom, that operated spirits, wine, and quick service restaurant businesses. It was once a FTSE 100 Index constituent and the world's second-largest spirits gro ...

and former chairperson and CEO of

Granada Granada ( ; ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada (Spain), Sierra Nevada mountains, at the confluence ...

* Dan Rooney,

United States Ambassador to Ireland The United States ambassador to Ireland is the ambassador, ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary from the United States of America to Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is considered a highly prestigious position within the United States F ...

* Anita Sands, managing director of

Citigroup Citigroup Inc. or Citi (Style (visual arts), stylized as citi) is an American multinational investment banking, investment bank and financial services company based in New York City. The company was formed in 1998 by the merger of Citicorp, t ...

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 ...

* Peter Sutherland, former Attorney General of Ireland * Denis Swanson, president of the

Fox Broadcasting Company Fox Broadcasting Company, LLC (commonly known as Fox; stylized in all caps) is an Television in the United States, American commercial broadcasting, commercial broadcast television broadcaster, television network serving as the flagship proper ...

* Margaret Sweeney, CEO of Postbank * Willie Walsh,

British Airways British Airways plc (BA) is the flag carrier of the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in London, England, near its main Airline hub, hub at Heathrow Airport. The airline is the second largest UK-based carrier, based on fleet size and pass ...

2009 Forum

Events

Taoiseach Brian Cowen gave the opening address, talking about the concept of a smart economy. A panel discussion then took place on the topic of "the global economy: positioning Ireland for the upturn" and this was followed by further panel discussions on "Ireland—the innovation island", "promoting brand Ireland through our global cultural profile", "Ireland’s image abroad: what is it now, how can it be improved and what role can new media play" and "Ireland and its Diaspora: harnessing unique resource". Those attending also visited

Áras an Uachtaráin (; "Residence of the President"), formerly the Viceregal Lodge, is the List of official residences, official residence and principal workplace of the President of Ireland. It is located off Chesterfield Avenue in the Phoenix Park in Dublin, ...

for a meeting with

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 ...

Mary McAleese Mary Patricia McAleese ( ; ; ; born 27 June 1951) is an Irish activist lawyer, academic, author, and former politician who served as the president of Ireland from November 1997 to November 2011. McAleese was first elected as president in 1997, ...

and Mary Coughlan presented a meal at

. Guests will also attend the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final at

Croke Park Croke Park (, ) is a Gaelic games stadium in Dublin, Ireland. Named after Archbishop Thomas Croke, it is referred to as Croker by GAA fans and locals. It serves as both the principal national stadium of Ireland and headquarters of the Gaelic At ...

on 20 September. Micheál Martin, whose constituency is

Cork South-Central "Cork" or "CORK" may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Stopper (plug), or "cork", a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container *** Wine cork an item to seal or reseal wine Places Ireland * ...

, described it as "a piece of opportunistic planning by yours truly in anticipation that Cork would reach the final".

Controversies

Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Mary Coughlan was ridiculed in the Irish media after crediting

Albert Einstein Albert Einstein (14 March 187918 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist who is best known for developing the theory of relativity. Einstein also made important contributions to quantum mechanics. His mass–energy equivalence f ...

for

Charles Darwin Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English Natural history#Before 1900, naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all speci ...

theory of evolution Evolution is the change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. It occurs when evolutionary processes such as natural selection and genetic drift act on genetic variation, resulting in certai ...

. At the launch on 17 September, she made the comparison "like Einstein explaining his theory of evolution". The incident prompted comparisons with American politicians such as

Dan Quayle James Danforth Quayle (; born February 4, 1947) is an American retired politician who served as the 44th vice president of the United States from 1989 to 1993 under President George H. W. Bush. A member of the Republican Party (United States), ...

and

Sarah Palin Sarah Louise Palin (; Heath; born February 11, 1964) is an American politician, commentator, and author who served as the ninth governor of Alaska from 2006 until her resignation in 2009. She was the 2008 Republican vice presidential nomi ...

, with the ''

Evening Herald ''The Herald'' is a nationwide mid-market tabloid newspaper headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, and published by Independent News & Media who are a subsidiary of Mediahuis. It is published Monday–Saturday. The newspaper was known as the ''Ev ...

'' referring to Coughlan in a derogatory manner as a "lovely girl" and saying she was "Ireland's own version" of Palin. The error came in the same week as she referred to her

Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as environmentalism and social justice. Green party platforms typically embrace Social democracy, social democratic economic policies and fo ...

coalition partners as "the vegetables" during an

Irish language Irish (Standard Irish: ), also known as Irish Gaelic or simply Gaelic ( ), is a Celtic language of the Indo-European language family. It is a member of the Goidelic languages of the Insular Celtic sub branch of the family and is indigenous ...

radio interview. In an interview with

Bloomberg Television Bloomberg Television (on-air as Bloomberg) is an American-based pay television network focusing on business and capital market programming, owned by diversified information and media private company Bloomberg L.P. It is distributed globally, re ...

at the Forum, shareholder

said

Independent News & Media Mediahuis Ireland (formerly Independent News and Media, or INM) is a Belgian/Dutch-owned media organisation that is based in Dublin and publishes national daily newspapers, Sunday newspapers, regional newspapers and operates multiple websites in ...

might shut down its flagship

newspaper ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'' by the end of 2009, saying it was "irrelevant" and that nobody wanted to read it. O'Brien also advocated a Yes vote during the second Irish referendum on the

Treaty of Lisbon The Treaty of Lisbon (initially known as the Reform Treaty) is a European agreement that amends the two treaties which form the constitutional basis of the European Union (EU). The Treaty of Lisbon, which was signed by all EU member states o ...

, claiming it was "essential for setting Ireland on the path to growth". Craig Barrett, former CEO and chairman of

, warned delegates that Ireland was spending "far too little" on education and that "schools are a bigger problem than banking". Taoiseach Brian Cowen seemed to agree with Barrett. Bob Geldof said countries of a similar size to Ireland, some impoverished, were spending as much as 6 per cent on

research and development Research and development (R&D or R+D), known in some countries as OKB, experiment and design, is the set of innovative activities undertaken by corporations or governments in developing new services or products. R&D constitutes the first stage ...

but that Ireland spends just 2 per cent. He also said Mary Coughlan had "a lovely pair of legs" which caused her to blush. On the second day of the forum, Irish Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism

Martin Cullen Martin Cullen (born 2 November 1954) is an Irish former Fianna Fáil politician who served as Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism from 2008 to 2010, Minister for Social and Family Affairs from 2007 to 2008, Minister for Transport from 2004 ...

expressed his disagreement with proposed cuts in public sending which were suggested by the McCarthy Report.

said Ireland's culture had not disappointed the country in the same way as institutions such as the banks and the Church had done so.

said Ireland's culture was the key to success, saying his Digicell group obtained a

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa and known until 1997 as Western Samoa, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania, in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu), two smaller, inhabited ...

n licence because the

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

's education had come from Irish priests: "We are famous for our writers, our artists, our poets and we are not famous for much else". There was a consensus amongst those attending that Ireland's banks needed to be reformed. Micheál Martin, in his closing remarks to the Forum, said the contributions of the delegates "will be taken forward and action will be taken", spoke of his hopes to establish an "online portal for a virtual community of people of Irish descent to stay in touch" and stated he would also focus on non-traditional countries of the Irish diaspora such as

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

Reaction

President Mary McAleese praised the ""interest in and commitment to" of those who attended, saying the event showed that Ireland is "considerably more than an island on the edge of Europe, but the centre of a vast networked community". Martin Murphy, managing director of Hewlitt-Packard Ireland, saw it as an opportunity to "truly begin positioning this small, export-driven country for real and sustained economic renewal and growth".

References

External links

* {{Official website, http://www.globalirishforum.ie/Default.aspx
Photo gallery
at RTÉ.ie * Mark Little'
blog
at RTÉ.ie
Opening address
by

2009 in economic history 2009 in Ireland Recurring events established in 2009 Global economic conferences