Hilary Beirne, a native of Boyle, County Roscommon, has declared his candidacy for the National University of Ireland (NUI) panel in the upcoming Seanad Éireann election.
Best known for his role as Chief Administrative Officer of New York’s St Patrick’s Day Parade, Beirne is campaigning on a platform of representing the 20% of Ireland’s population who he says live abroad and strengthening their ties with the country.
Beirne grew up on a farm in Boyle, County Roscommon, and attended St Mary’s College in Boyle before pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Agricultural Science at University College Galway and University College Dublin. He later earned a Master’s degree in Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences from Hunter College in New York.
Since emigrating to the United States in 1988, Beirne has played a key role in the organisation and modernisation of New York’s St Patrick’s Day Parade, the largest of its kind globally. He also serves on the Executive Board of VotingRights.ie and is a member of the Ad Hoc Committee to Protect the Good Friday Agreement in Washington, D.C.
Campaign focus
Beirne emphasises the need for Ireland to engage with its Irish-born nationals living abroad: “Approximately 1 million (20% of the population) live abroad, and they deserve political representation for the benefit of them and the country”.
Speaking to the Roscommon People, Beirne said: “Many of them are in positions to drive investments to Ireland, but they are not engaged by Ireland, and more importantly, they have not one single representative to represent their interest in their homeland, despite the fact that they were born here, grew up here, still have friends, relatives and family living here”.
Beirne says that having a representative will help the Irish living abroad to “remain connected” to Ireland, and help diversify the Irish economy to reduce its over-dependence on multinationals.
“With every Irish family having a relative living abroad, I ask you to vote number 1 Hilary Beirne, thereby recognising the value of a relationship with Irish citizens abroad can bring to Ireland, especially when the Irish economy is over dependent on multinational corporations,” he said.
Beirne also aims to advocate for additional resources for NUI institutions and to prepare graduates for the global economy.
