US Secretary of State Mrs Hillary Clinton recently made it clear to several key Irish Americans that she would shortly appoint an economic envoy to Northern Ireland. Now, understanding this very important role in terms of helping to get the Northern economy moving, she has just announced the appointment of Tipperary born Mr Declan Kelly, an Irish business advisor, as her government’s economic envoy to this post.
Mr D. Kelly
Mr Declan Kelly, aged 41, is a native of Portroe, Co Tipperary, son of Nan and Tom Kelly. He received his BA degree in English and Legal Science in 1989.
Mr Kelly only recently announced that he is to step down from FTI, the International consulting firm which in 2006, acquired his former company Financial Dynamics (FD) International, a holding company which managed the Financial Dynamics network worldwide. He will remain with FTI in a consulting capacity but will step down as Executive Vice President.
Mr Kelly presently is a senior advisor to some of the world’s largest corporations and business leaders and has served on the board of a number of non profit organisations, including Co-Operation Ireland, latter a non profit organisation dedicated to funding peace initiatives in Northern Ireland.
He has been a Director of the Dublin Theatre Festival for several years and was appointed as a member of the Advisory Board of Glucksmann Ireland House at New York University. He serves in an advisory capacity to the Board of Directors of the American Ireland Fund and GOAL, the third world humanitarian organisation.
He is also Chairman of the US Foundation Board of NUI Galway, where he studied for a number of years and remains one of the leading advisors to US Secretary of State Mrs Hillary Clinton.
Mr Kelly was also a former journalist with the Tipperary Star, Nenagh Guardian and Irish Examiner newspapers. He is a regular visitor to North Tipperary and to his parents home in Portroe. Mr Kelly was in Tipperary in August last to attend the wedding of a former Tipperary Star and Nenagh Guardian journalist and colleague.
US State Department sources confirm that he is expected to visit Belfast today, when he will meet with business leaders. He will accompany the new US ambassador to London, Mr Louis Susman.
His brother MEP Alan Kelly recently secured himself a seat in the European Parliament elections in Ireland as the mid-west’s Labour candidate.
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