More than 80 O’Neills are scheduled to travel from America for the inaugural Tip O’Neill Donegal Diaspora Award in memory of the late former speaker of the US House of Representatives. The clan gathering, starting this Friday, will take place in Buncrana, Co Donegal, home of O’Neill’s maternal ancestors.
US-based journalist Niall O’Dowd will be the first recipient of the award.
The weekend programme will also include the presentation of Irish-American Partnership bursaries to five local national schools and the first annual Tip O’Neill lecture to be delivered by Prof Paul Arthur.
A sculpture commemorating O’Neill will also be unveiled at Buncrana’s Shore Front by the town’s mayor, James Gill.
O’Neill’s daughter Susan O’Neill said her father’s grandmother Eunice Fullerton was born outside Buncrana, “so this part of the world still resonates as home for many of us”.
She added: “There are over 80 making the trip and this is a great opportunity for members of our family to visit our ancestral home and meet the local community.”