The American Ireland Fund Treasurer Walter Dunfey
A Life Dedicated to Ireland

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When The American Ireland Fund Treasurer Walter Dunfey died September 10, 1989, he left not only grieving family members and friends, but also a legacy in Ireland that will perpetuate the good work he began.

To all of The American Ireland Fund, but especially for those working in Boston and the New England area, the loss of Dunfey was felt deeply.

“It’s tough to wake up and realize you’ve lost your best friend,” said Robert P. Fitzgerald, an AIF board member and Senior Vice President with Corroon & Black in Boston. “But we’ll just carry on and do our best and what we think Walter would have wanted us to do for Ireland.”

A tribute at the November 7, 1989 Boston Dinner recalled the man, who together with Fitzgerald, served as co-chair of the city’s first AIF dinner in 1982. That year, Boston donors contributed $100,000.

“We started it going,” Fitzgerald remembered. “We broke the ice, trying to convince people about The Fund. Now, because of Walter’s work, it’s got both high visibility and great success.”

Walter Dunfey’s legacy is strong not only in Boston, but also all over Ireland, as AIF Executive Director William J. McNally discovered as he traveled there in August after Dunfey fell ill. “You could barely go anywhere in Ireland without everyone saying how they knew Walter and loved him,” said McNally. “All over Ireland, North and South, I had a personal memory of visiting places with Walter on The American Ireland Fund business.”

Among Dunfey’s contributions to the building of The American Ireland Fund and its New England chapter, McNally said, was the vision of The AIF as a community foundation for Ireland. He had successfully created the New Hampshire Charitable Fund and saw the wisdom of replicating that community-based approach.

“Walter’s warm and easy-going personality and his love of humanity was infectious,” said McNally. “He was loved and respected by Board members of The Fund in America and by the Advisory Committee in Ireland for his energy, commitment and many kindnesses.”

Connections 1989