| Niall Mellon | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1967 (age 44–45) |
| Nationality | Irish |
| Occupation | Entrepreneur, philanthropist |
| Known for | Charity work (Niall Mellon Township Trust) |
Niall J. Mellon (born 1967) is an Irish entrepreneur and philanthropist who founded the Niall Mellon Township Trust to provide homes to impoverished communities in South Africa's townships.
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Mellon grew up in Ballyroan, County Dublin. After finishing school, Mellon joined his father's personalised investment brokerage.[1] At age 24, he set up his own mortgage company, and subsequently grew his property and financial services interests through the Niall J. Mellon Group. He carried out numerous development projects in the UK. His joint venture Office park Development at City Park in Glasgow (2001) was awarded 'Best Urban Redevelopment Project in Britain in 2006. He also built the tallest building in Wales at Meridian Quay,Swansea in 2009.
In 2002, aged 35, Mellon began to spend most of his time working to help the poor. While on a visit to South Africa, he was moved by the poverty of some township communities near Cape Town,[2] and subsequently formed the building charity, the Niall Mellon Township Trust, primarily with his own funds.[3]
Ubder his management this charity (Niall Mellon Township Trust) grew in a few years to become the largest charity supplier of subsidised housing in South Africa. In 2007 more than 5,000 homes were built by the charity. In November 2008 over 2000 volunteers formed Ireland's biggest ever overseas contingent when they travelled to the Khayelitsha township of Cape Town, where they built 250 new homes over the course of a week. At the end of 2010 over 14,500 volunteers have worked on his projects and the charity has now built in excess of 15,000 houses and provided homes for almost 100,000 South Africans. Mr.Mellon is the voluntary chief execiutive of this organisation,a position for which he does not take any remuneration .[4] Taoiseach Bertie Ahern visited while in South Africa in 2008.[5] By the
Mellon's efforts in this regard have earned praise from many quarters including Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu. In 2004 he was honoured by Dublin City Council.[6] He was awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Philosophy by the Dublin Institute of Technology[7] and a Doctor of Law from University College Cork.[3]
Mellon has received international honours for his efforts to encourage the spirit of volunteerism. Cape Town.[8]