I know they say what happens in Las Vegas stays in Las Vegas but this is the exception that proves the rule because I want to thank Bostonian and President of the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) in North America Ed Kelly for hosting a gathering last night in the Neon City of fire service pension leaders to discuss investments in the North of Ireland and Border Counties.
Bostonians have also been the fore in backing the peace process - I think especially of our great cheerleaders, former Mayor Marty Walsh and Eugene O’Flaherty. President Ed Kelly is very much cut from the same cloth.
When I travelled to Boston in late February to ask the IFFA consider following the lead of New York State Comptroller Office of the NYS Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli by deploying funds from its members' pensions in the North, Ed immediately agreed to pull together key decision makers from across the US and Canada to discuss the proposal.
Thus yesterday, I was up early in Belfast, on the first plane out of Dublin and (via Washington D.C.) found myself, 4,911 miles later, in Las Vegas where a major pension fund conference is taking place over the next three days.
NEW DAY: Daybreak this morning in Las Vegas
Over dinner in Lawry's restaurant, I was able to thank fire fighter pension representatives and advisers from LA, New York, Chicago, Toronto and other points besides for the critical Irish American intervention in the 1990s to make the ceasefires and peace agreement possible.
Without that risk-taking initiative, hundreds of people alive today would have perished.
Of course, once the peace was secured American companies went on to bolster the peace process with major investments - those notables include Citi, Allstate and Liberty who created thousands of jobs (making millions of dollars in profits at the same time courtesy of our very talented workforce).
But now, with peace still fragile, we need another major intervention, this time from trade unions across the US who control trillions of dollars in pension funds. We are trying to create a peaceful and prosperous society with good jobs, especially in the manufacturing sector to exploit the dual market access miracle of Brexit. I would particularly welcome sustainable unionised jobs nurtured by US pension funds.
In short, our friends in Irish America who hold key positions in many American trade unions have a golden opportunity to do good while doing well for their members - returns in the North thus far, to quote NY State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli, have been among the pension fund's top results globally.
Everywhere I travel in the US, I see references to USA 250. ‘The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America’ on 4 July 1776 had 56 signatories, eight or nine were of Irish heritage, and three of those were Irish-born — George Taylor, Matthew Thornton and James Smith.
Can there be a better way to mark the Irish contribution to the founding of the USA 250 years ago than investing in building our precious peace process?
