Hillary hopes the Clinton effect can raise Irish funds
Hillary Clinton is set to become the first American presidential candidate to hold a fundraiser in Ireland, and one of the very few to raise money outside the US.
It is understood her husband, former president Bill Clinton, has arranged to come to Ireland later this month to host the fundraising reception for his wife.
The D4 event, which will be held on the night of November 17, is being organised by Irish Americans for Hillary, a group led by Declan Kelly, a former business journalist from Co Tipperary.
Mr Kelly, who is one of Ms Clinton's leading fundraisers, now heads up the American arm of PR firm Financial Dynamics.
Other prominent members of the Irish Americans for Hillary campaign include Niall O'Dowd, the publisher of the 'Irish Voice', John Fitzpatrick, head of the Fitzpatrick Hotel Group and Paul Keary, an Irish PR executive based in New York.
Confident
Mr Kelly said: "We are thrilled that President Clinton is coming to Ireland for this very special event and we are confident that it will be a great success.
"There have been no better friends to Ireland than Bill and Hillary Clinton and we in the Irish community are going to do everything in our power to support Senator Clinton's bid to win the White House."
Under American law, only US citizens and Green Card holders can contribute to presidential campaigns. The fundraising reception will be held in the D4 home of an American citizen. Anyone attending will have to have a ticket bought by a US citizen.
With only 50 couples on the invite list the reception is expected to be one of the most exclusive events held in Dublin this year.
Tickets cost $2,300 per person. This is the maximum amount which a US citizen may contribute to a presidential campaign in any two-year period. This limit has meant candidates have had to fundraise from a very wide base.
The planned bash is one of a number of events which the group has organised for Ms Clinton.
The group has also organised fundraisers in California, Boston, and New York.
The latter event was hosted by actor Gabriel Byrne.
Ms Clinton, who visited Ireland on seven occasions during her husband's presidential tenure, has enjoyed strong links to the Irish-American population.
In particular, she is associated with the campaign to legalise the status of the 25,000-50,000 Irish people currently working in the US without a Green Card.
The Hillary Clinton campaign has so far raised over $80m.
According to reliable sources the efforts of Irish-Americans for Hillary have added a seven-figure sum to that tally.
Although $80m would be more than a princely sum for a political hopeful in any other country, it is estimated that Ms Clinton will need to raise €400m to mount a successful campaign.
The mobilisation of the Irish-American support has been one of the key features of Ms Clinton's campaign.
- Tom McEnaney Business Editor
