TRIBUTES HAVE BEEN paid to Charles Francis ‘Chuck’ Feeney, an Irish-American billionaire who made historically large donations to Irish causes and higher education research, who has died aged 92. 

Tánaiste Michael Martin said he is “deeply saddened” to learn of Feeney’s passing, and said it was a “great honour to work with him, transforming Ireland’s third level research capacity”. 

Martin said Feeney was a “pioneer in the world of philanthropy”. 

Former President of Dublin City University Brian MacCraith said that Feeney was a man whose generosity “transformed higher education and many other sectors”. 

Feeney was also behind the ‘Giving While Living’ campaign, which aimed to see incredibly wealthy people donate their money to good causes. Bill Gates and Warren Buffet were among those to describe him as a “personal hero”. 

“I am not here to tell anybody what you should do with your money, it’s your money you can do what you want with it. But I am just convinced that the satisfaction you can achieve from helping people, is something you can’t get otherwise,” Chuck previously said when explaining his ‘Giving While Living’ philosophy. 

In 2012, all of the Universities in Ireland jointly bestowed Feeney with an honorary doctorate. 

Feeney’s unprecedented investment in University Limerick allowed the college to expand from 11 buildings 25 years ago to over 40 today. 

He was a long-time board member, and the driving force behind the establishment of the UL Foundation in 1989. 

Feeney also played a pivotal role in supporting the now world-renowned Irish World Academy of Music and Dance. 

Back in 2015, Feeney made the biggest philanthropic donation in Irish history when he donated €138.4 million to Trinity College Dublin and the University of California to fund their research into finding a cure for dementia. 

Feeney was also a major donor to peace projects in Northern Ireland over the course of his life. 

In total, he donated €1.3 billion to Ireland plus €570m to Northern Ireland. 

His Irish ancestors hailed from County Fermanagh. 

Since he founded Atlantic Philanthropies in 1984, he has made grants to different causes worth over $8bn. 

Despite his legacy of philanthropy, Feeney was never one to seek out the limelight. For years, Atlantic Philanthropies gave away money in secret – asking beneficiaries not to reveal the source of the funding. 

He began his philanthropic efforts after transferring his shareholding in Duty Free Shoppers, a retail chain which he co-founded. 

He passed away in San Francisco earlier today. He was born to Irish American parents in Elizabeth, New Jersey. 

At University, he studied hotel management. He also served as a U.S Air Force radio operator during the Korean War.