Martin Naughton — an Irish businessman, philanthropist, and one of the benefactors for whom the Keough-Naughton Institute for Irish Studies is named — passed away on July 3, 2026. He was 87.
Through his business acumen and generosity, Naughton contributed to the making of Ireland as it is today: a place that is remarkably more prosperous, more connected, and more peaceful than it was a half-century ago.
An engineer by training, Naughton founded an electrical appliance company in 1973 with 10 employees at a small factory in Newry, a town in Northern Ireland near the border with the Republic of Ireland and his home county, Louth. Through innovation and insightful acquisitions, Naughton grew the company into what is now the Glen Dimplex Group — a global company with plants in 20 countries and more than 8,000 employees who make low-carbon heating and ventilation solutions.
On this side of the Atlantic, Naughton helped bring Notre Dame to Ireland and Ireland to Notre Dame. He and the late Donald Keough, a former Coca-Cola executive and chair of the University’s Board of Trustees, were the keys to deepening Notre Dame’s connections with Ireland over the past 30 years. The two friends supported numerous academic initiatives and programs that linked Notre Dame with Ireland as well as marquee events like the Fighting Irish football games in Dublin.
The Keough Institute for Irish Studies was founded in 1992. Keough, whose gift to the University established the institute, proposed in 2006 that it be renamed the Keough-Naughton Institute to acknowledge the profound interest both men shared in Ireland and Notre Dame’s commitments on the island.
The Keough-Naughton Institute, which is now part of Notre Dame’s Keough School of Global Affairs, has become a world leader in the multidisciplinary field of Irish studies. The institute focuses on teaching and research in both the humanities and public policy — two strands of activity that are mutually reinforcing and a reflection of the founders’ passion for history, literature, language, art and the future of Ireland.
“Martin’s generosity and commitment to education have left an enduring legacy at the Keough School,” said Mary Gallagher, the Marilyn Keough Dean of the Keough School of Global Affairs. “Through the Keough-Naughton Institute, he helped create a place where students and scholars deepen their understanding of Ireland, build lasting relationships and strengthen the ties between Ireland and Notre Dame. His legacy will continue to be felt in the lives of those who learn, teach and collaborate through the institute for generations to come. We are deeply grateful for all that he and Carmel have meant to our community, and we continue to hold their family in our prayers.”
In addition to the institute, Naughton helped make it possible for the University to establish Notre Dame Dublin, located in the historic O’Connell House on Merrion Square, as well as Notre Dame Kylemore, located at Kylemore Abbey in Connemara. The Naughton Fellowships provide students in STEM fields with international research and learning opportunities through a funded exchange program between Notre Dame and Ireland’s leading research universities. He was a member of the University’s Board of Trustees since 1999.
“It’s hard to overstate Martin Naughton’s impact on the University of Notre Dame. He strengthened ties between Ireland and the United States, connected Notre Dame with Ireland in new and meaningful ways, and helped Notre Dame become a more global university,” said Colin Barr, the Thomas Moore and Judy Livingston Director of the Keough-Naughton Institute and professor of modern Irish history in the Keough School of Global Affairs. “His legacy will live on across the island of Ireland as well as in the relationships he built with Notre Dame and other partners around the world.”
Naughton believed strongly in the power of education to transform people’s lives. He made large gifts to several universities on the island of Ireland as well as to Notre Dame.
He and his family have also been enthusiastic about the arts in Ireland, with support for the National Gallery of Ireland in Dublin, the Naughton Gallery at Queen’s University Belfast, the Royal Irish Academy, and the Lyric Theatre Belfast, among other organizations. In 1992, the couple bought and restored Stackallan House, an 18th century estate in County Meath.
“You put money into what rings your bell,” Naughton told the Financial Times in a 2018 profile.
He and his wife, Carmel, received several honors for their philanthropy and service. He was appointed a Knight of the British Empire and an Officier de la Legion d’Honneur of France.
In 2025, in one of his last acts, Pope Francis conferred the honor of the Order of Saint Gregory the Great upon the couple in recognition of their outstanding philanthropy in the areas of education and the arts, particularly for their support of Catholic education.
The Naughtons also played a part in the Northern Ireland peace process that brought an end to the Troubles. The couple hosted dinners at their home where they invited people from different parts of Ireland, the north and the south, for conversation.
“The peace process is like crossing a river,” Naughton said in 2018 while being honored by the Business for Peace Foundation. “You use stepping stones — big stepping stones, small stepping stones, but a lot of people contribute. ... When you cross the river by the stepping stones, then you can build a bridge, then you can build two bridges, and you start getting things going.”
Naughton is survived by Carmel; their children, Neil, Fergal, and Fiona, co-chair of the Keough-Naughton Institute Advisory Board; and their extended family.
Read the University of Notre Dame’s in memoriam for Martin Naughton at news.nd.edu.