THE north's former US special envoy has lost his seat on the board of a major charity and has “temporarily reduced his work responsibilities” with the international consultancy firm he co-founded after a drunken episode at a fundraising concert.
Declan Kelly, who was the Obama administration's special envoy to Northern Ireland between 2009-2011 and co-founder of consultancy firm Teneo, is said to have behaved inappropriately at the May 2 concert that was chaired by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle and featured artists including Jennifer Lopez.
The virtual concert broadcast from the SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles was staged by charity Global Citizen, of which Mr Kelly was a board member, and included recorded addresses by Pope Francis and President Joe Biden.
The Tipperary-born former journalist, who is the brother of Irish Labour Party leader Alan Kelly, is reported to have "became inebriated and behaved inappropriately towards some women and men at the event”.
A spokesperson for the 53-year-old said he “deeply regrets his actions” and had apologised to those he had offended.
Global Citizen has removed Mr Kelly from its board and launched an independent investigation.
He has also stepped back from his duties at Teneo, an international consultancy whose advisers include Senator George Mitchell, former Conservative Party leader William Hague, and former foreign secretary Amber Rudd.
His spokesman said he had “temporarily reduced his work responsibilities”, was “committed to sobriety” and was “undertaking ongoing counselling from healthcare professionals”.
Mr Kelly, who was appointed by Hillary Clinton to be the US state department’s envoy to Northern Ireland, began his career as a reporter with the Nenagh Guardian before moving into public relations.
