#ambition and how he trained in the df

[oatpaws-silly-kittys]

Hm okay. If not 6 with Thornclaw

Would 18 fit with him or-? I mean you could try that song if you want- But if it isn't easy then don't worry 'bout itt!

Secretly, I'm aiming for a rhythm that exceeds my expectations

Am I ever gonna get it?

Your girl is in the business so there's little room for idle contemplation

(i figured out how to make 6 work let’s gooo)

[bonefall]

Motivations of Dark Forest Trainees -- Planning

So I'm going to flesh out the Dark Forest and its inhabitants. First I need to compile a list of everyone who trained in the Dark Forest, and a brief summary of their motivations.

So if you guys have any input, weigh in!

First though-- Removals and Openings

Birchfall is not going to train in the Dark Forest. He's being changed to Dovewing's mentor, and a source of comfort to her as opposed to her father Lionblaze. He has too much going on.

Larkwing is also being removed. Sedgewhisker was very young and there’s no need for her to have kittens when she’s barely 2 years old, let alone have that kitten in Dark Forest training.

There were 18 DF trainees without Birch. 4 River, 3 Shadow, 4 Thunder, and 7 Wind. I'm willing to bump that number up to an even 20. Maybe even more if there’s some enticing ideas.

So far there are 18 trainees on this list; that makes 2 open spaces.

The Trainees so Far

WindClan

Breezepelt, naturally Motivation: Neglected and abused by father, mother attempted to assassinate Onewhisker. Sees The Three as a symbol of Crowfeather hating him and being heirs of destiny. Changes: Apprentice is now Furzepaw, not Boulderpaw, and he encouraged Furze to train in the Dark Forest with him. Kills Firestar in early OotS.

Harespring Motivation: The pressure StarClan put on his brother Kestrelflight made him think that it can't be all that good... so maybe the Dark Forest isn't as bad? Plus, he would like to meet Mudclaw, and was an old friend of Breezepelt. Changes: Apprentice is now Boulderpaw, who he never got involved in his Dark Forest training.

Furzepelt Motivation: Breezepelt encouraged her to join him. Changes: Grows very close to Antpelt and Sunstrike, becomes mates with Sunstrike (sapphic)

Antpelt Motivation: Old friend of Breezepelt Changes: It was not known that Ivypool killing him as a spirit would kill him forever. It came as a shock to everyone-- and it's how the DF cats learned that spirits can be killed by the living. Spirits can't kill other spirits. This situation makes Ivypool blame herself for his death.

Sunstrike Motivation: Dissatisfaction with Onestar; possibly thinks Breezepelt would be a better leader because her parents were hurt in a battle that was lost. Changes: Surviving instead of Whiskernose (because i like her more), disabled after the battle.

Whiskernose Motivation: Xenophobia, ambition. Feels Onestar is weak like Tallstar before him. Changes: Dying instead of Sunstrike (because i like him less), helps to start the fire in ThunderClan to make an opening for Thornclaw and Breezepelt to kill Firestar. One of the older trainees.

RiverClan

Minnowtail Motivation: HalfClan relationship with Mousewhisker, gets recruited by Cloudberry and Ryewhisker. Changes: Going to lean in more to Minnow and Mouse having a secret relationship. Mouse eventually moves to RiverClan in TBC or ASC.

Icewing Motivation: Curiosity, influence from mother Skyheart. Knew that Mistystar lied about how Leopardstar died in BB!TNP, but only found out this way that she was murdered. Gets hooked after this, realizing that the training could give her power. If Mistystar murdered Leopardstar... what does that say about her fitness to rule? Might want to become deputy. Changes: Needs to be clearer that she's Beetlewhisker's mother. I would like her to do more, generally. Mate, Mintflower, was a Tribe cat. Sedgecreek, current deputy, narrowly survives a dangerous situation and decides to retire; that was definitely part of a DF plot.

Beetlewhisker Motivation: Supporting Icewing Changes: Brokenstar is no longer part of the Dark Forest, so someone else will kill him. Probably Thistleclaw.

Lizardtail Motivation: Bullied by Mossyfoot (apprentice of Minnowtail) and Troutstream. Changes: Becomes Hallowflight as an honor title after swimming across the lake and running another mile to get help, betraying the Dark Forest.

ShadowClan (I actually like that it's the least represented Clan for once so I'm not looking to add any cats here)

Applefur Motivation: Jealousy of Marshwing, desire to be a ferocious warrior. Changes: Will probably kill Brackenfur. Generally beefed up.

Redwillow Motivation: ??? (Seems aggressive; true believer?) Changes: Change mentor to Applefur?

Ratscar Motivation: ??? (I'm thinking dissatisfaction with Blackstar's rule) Changes: Ratscar raised his sister Snowbird after their parents died. An adult warrior during the WindClan Massacre, he's the oldest trainee and this should be noted.

ThunderClan

Ivypool Motivation: Pushed there by Lionblaze. Eventually has her jealousy and alienation from Dovewing exploited. Changes: Daughter of Lionblaze now. Waking-world mentor is Brightheart. Dark Forest mentor is Hawkfrost, who has a redemption arc.

Blossomfall Motivation: Jealousy over Briarlight, dissatisfaction with Bramblestar Changes: Graystripe needs to be more involved as one of the reasons Blossomfall is training here.

Thornclaw Motivation: Secret supporter of Thistle Law. Wants power. Changes: Deputy of ThunderClan under Bramblestar. Was in on the plot to kill Firestar and was probably aware of the plot to eliminate Brackenfur. Dies in the Great Battle and goes to the Dark Forest in death.

Mousewhisker Motivation: Wants to be stronger... but also likes the chance to hang out with Minnowtail. Changes: His waking world mentor is Iceheart, the cat who was once Scourge.

Spiderleg Motivation: Training with his mentor, Thornclaw. A Thistle Law supporter who regrets his time with Daisy and seeking to make ThunderClan strong again. Changes: He comes extremely close to killing his son Toadstep in the Great Battle, and regrets his time here deeply.

These cats need to have perceived grievances with their Clans, which Tigerstar and his group are trying to help them achieve. The Dark Forest will actually be getting a plan in this redux; they are putting their trainees in power by trying to kill their rivals and Clan leadership.

The Dark Forest spirits will also be getting their own motivations, which Tigerstar had to consider while he was coalition building.

[the-owl-tree]

I really wish Brambleclaw and Hawkfrost had more time to bond and actually be brothers before the whole lake scene. I like the idea of Brambleclaw being lonely and wanting more connections to his father's bloodline after Tawnypelt leaving, and that plays MUCH better into his training in the DF than just plain old ambition. And for Hawkfrost... I think the answer is obvious - Tadpole. I have this scene in my head where Hawkfrost tells Brambleclaw about Tadpole and lets him in on how emotionally painful his death was and how he's so happy to have a brother again and it makes me go gwa. MISSED OPPORTUNITY TO NOT HAVE TADPOLE MENTIONED IN THE MAINLINE BOOKS ERINS. I GET HE WAS MAINLY MADE FOR TIGERSTAR AND SASHA BUT STILL.

I don’t know why the Erins are allergic to writing characters bonding or uh even liking each other in TNP but I love the idea of Hawk and Bramble having a genuine friendship. I love the idea of Hawk sort of projecting this fantasy version of Tadpole onto Bramble at first before slowly wanting to get to know Bramble for himself, wanting to bond with his kin, and genuinely believing that he can make this work.

I know Tadpole was probably conceptualized after TNP but oh man….could you imagine, just this quiet sort of confession between the two. One saw their father die, the other saw their brother die. Oh man, I love a villain with vulnerability, very good.

……but instead they had Hawk act comically evil and Brambleclaw kept SEEING him be comically evil. Why did they have BRAMBLECLAW of all the POVs watch Hawkfrost manipulate Stormfur and Brook’s exile, the one protagonist who is supposed to be trusting his brother and we’re supposed to understand that trust. Why not Squilf or Leaf?? Why is Bramble still fine with hanging with his brother when he exiled his old journey friend/homoromantic tension buddy? Boo! Throwing rocks!

[mingos]

tried approaching it conventionally at first like "well, if luffy got his fruit at 7 but awakened it at 19, then doffy who got his fruit at 10 must have awakened it at 22"

but luffy arguably was only able to achieve awakening at all because he trained like crazy from ages 17-19 to push himself beyond his limits (the only real way you can achieve awakening) to keep his promise of protecting his friends.

so awakening doesn't necessarily have to do with how long you've had your devil fruit at all, just how motivated you are to learn how to use it to its full potential.

and, honestly, i don't think there would be anybody more motivated to learn how to use his devil fruit to its full potential than a spiteful demon child who has ambitions of taking over the world one day. (and has also been living on the streets & actively been hunted by the world government since he was 10 years old, that too).

-

all that is to say: it wouldn't seem too much of a stretch to hc that he was able to achieve awakening/df mastery at an absurdly young age, right? haven't decided on a specific one yet but i'm thinking anywhere from 15-18.

okay, but... what age was doflamingo when his devil fruit awakened?

[harriertail]

Tbh the way Bluestar's SE went, I kinda thought it would end up Crooked/Blue. They really had chemistry. Oak/Blue came out of nowhere, and felt kinda forced. If I could change any detail in the series it'd be who Stone, Misty, Silver, and Moss's parents are, and have Blue and Crooked grow closer before Blue has kits: like Crooked literally thinks of Blue as his mate type of close. When Mapleshade introduces him to Thistleclaw and he hears Thistle's thoughts..well, he gets pissed and is one of the reasons why he leaves Mapleshade's training. He talks to Blue and tells her what Thistle is doing, and they come into an agreement for Crooked to take the kits. Moss still dies, but Stone, and Misty make it over. A few seasons after Blue and Crooked become leaders they have an oops! Baby and Blue successfully hides the pregnancy (like Leaf) and gives birth away from camp, cleans up and pretends Silver is a kitten she found, getting a thunderclan queen to nurse her. She tells Crooked, and they both update each other on the kits they don't get to see except at Gatherings.

Sorry for a late reply i completely missed this!! Yeah i thought the Crookedpaw/jaw and Bluepaw/fur interactions were super cute little nods to each others SE and set up a friendship, and expected Crooked to introduce Oak to her- but Oakheart just comes out of nowhere? Which makes sense if u see BlueOak as two emotionally neglected individuals one who is grief stricken and can only find love with someone who isn’t going to emotionally affect her (Oakheart being across the border she physically won’t see him etc) and Oakheart... idk why he likes her tbh. Shes pretty? He can’t get her out of his head? He trepasses on her territory to sun bathe? Would make sense if he was like, insanely egotistical and cocky to assume he could bag a cat from a diff Clan or smth but he’s quite a friendly chill guy who deeply cares for her. I like BlueOak just don’t think about it too much. I also expected something to come of Thistleclaw and Crookedjaw being “allies” in the DF. Nope. Crooked and Blue’s SEs are my absolute faves tho and i love how interconnected they are.

Bluestar having a second litter with Crooked is funny af tbh. I love the idea of a forbidden relationship that they give up to follow their ambitions of being leader, and when they both become leader they realise that they kinda can give into it and have both as long as no one finds out...

[aerial-jace]

Since Lionblaze distances himself from his parents, and Leafpool, does he have any clanmates he is close to after the reveal? Does he reveal his parentage at a gathering like Holly does in canon? Does Crowfeather try and connect with his other kit any? And how do the 3 and Nightcloud feel about Lionblaze?

Thanks a lot for these! <3

Lionblaze is really not going to connect very well with anyone other than his fellow DF trainees. The reveal does make his anger come to the forefront and any friendships he might've made like Sorreltail's litter are likely to be soured. He does feel somewhat of a kinship with Brambleclaw because they both were lied to, and after the whole thing plays out and he stops with the murderous intent I feel like he's the one he's likely to turn to for moral support.

As for the parentage reveal at a gathering I feel like ThunderClan might want to keep it under wraps. They all know and they wanna oust Leafpool, but to save face they're gonna quietly exile her or something when she's done training another apprentice. (Hm... another medicine cat Dove AU perhaps? Would be a background detail mostly, but still makes you think...)

On the WindClan side, Jay definitely doesn't wanna tell, but his hand will be forced when he has to explain the Firestar connection for the prophecy. So, his siblings are likely to know first and once they figure out what the fuck the powers are for, Onestar is next to know. Then the other clan leaders. Then the general public.

As for Crowfeather... He's definitely not keen on having this come to bite him in the ass. And I feel like Lion's just looks too much like a bramblesquirrel child that he can convince himself into denialism. He'll have to face it eventually, probably when the whole of the dark forest plot is wrapped up, but I don't think Lion's too keen on reconnecting. I see them being on cordial terms after all's said and done, but he's definitely fucked up with all his kits.

This one's interesting because in general the 4 of them see Lion as an embodiment of Crowfeather's mistakes but in like a different way. They all have a pretty negative view of Crowfeather, for generally being a neglectful, emotionally distant father. But when you see the specific mistake Lion represents in their minds you do get a glimpse into their character.

To Nightcloud he's an embodiment of how he's not willing to put the work in to prove himself despite how she's worked her ass off and raised their children with all the love he could give.

To Breezepelt he's an embodiment of where his heart has always been and the reasons he has neglected his family. It pisses him off to imagine how he could've been a better father to Lion even though he's essentially just making it all up in his head.

To Hollytail he's an embodiment of his lack of solid morals. Holly eats, drinks, and breathes the warrior code and has an ambition for the deputyship. The fact this is her father annoys her because by association she has to work harder to prove herself.

And finally to Jayroot he's an embodiment of Crowfeather's piss-poor decision making skills. Had he just, you know, adopted him a lot of this wouldn't have happened. Jay and Lion were friends, but clan loyalty got in the way. And a part of him is ecstatic to find out that they were related even as he was actively betraying their former trust.

All around, for all of them this is a tally mark more in the "Crowfeather being the worst" counter.

[warriorsredux]

Since you're doing some AUs- I have one where Mapleshade and Tigerstar stop Spottedlead from intervening with Jaypaw when he went into the Dark Forest. Like with Ivypool, they play on his ambitions and jealousy- partly also playing on his spite. He still becomes a medicine cat, but because of his training, he can also kick some serious butt. As he grows, he begins giving false prophecies and leads lots of cats to the dark side. He becomes a champion for the DF, and is much more spiteful.

Evil medicine cats are always fun. Though, honestly, with how much of a dick Jay is anyways, I doubt anyone would notice. 

[davidfurlongtheatre]

David Furlong: interview THE FLIES

By Caro Moses

| Published on Friday 7 June 2019

Headed to The Bunker Theatre this week is a production of Jean-Paul Sartre’s ‘The Flies’, produced by Exchange Theatre – a company I am a big fan of, because of its international and diverse approach – who will as usual be staging their version of the show ‘bilingually’, with half of performances delivered in English, the other half in French.

To find out more about the show, and what to expect from Exchange Theatre in the future, I spoke to company founder, director and actor David Furlong.

CM: Some may be aware of what ‘The Flies’ is all about, but some may not: can you give us an idea of where the narrative takes us? DF: Years after the Trojan war, Orestes comes back to Argos, his birthplace, to find his sister Electra reduced to being a servant, and his mother Clytemnestra ruling the land along with her lover Aegisthus, a dictator. Sartre tells their tale as much as the story of the guilt imposed on a whole people through misinformation and ignorance. The flies, hovering around the stench of the city, symbolise the fear maintained through manipulation. What will it take for the siblings to overcome this tyranny? It’s French philosopher Jean Paul Sartre’s look at the Greek myth of the Oresteia.

CM: Your version of this is described as an adaptation: in what ways does it resemble the source material and in what ways does it differ? DF: Jean-Paul Sartre wrote ‘The Flies’ in 1944 when he was a prisoner of war and the play was an outcry against Nazi Occupation in France. Eighty years later, far right populists are rising again promoting fear of the other, of any differences. We kept exactly the words of Sartre so in this regard, it’s a faithful translation. I’ve adapted the world of the play more to a slightly recognisable world for a 21st century audience. Our set is made of piles of TVs, on which propaganda is broadcast, representing the fake news deployed to keep the citizens of Argos in ignorance and fear. This Orwellian world is never very far from ours. In 1939, The Nazis and the French collaborationists spread their ideology like this. The mediums have changed but the propaganda and the struggle against it are both the same.

CM: What made you want to stage it now? DF: Firstly, ‘The Flies’ is the show which put Exchange Theatre on the British theatre map ten years ago. Before this show, we were barely surviving through guerrilla theatre-making on the Fringe. We did the first production like a challenge to the theatre-form. This is the show that bought us a three-year creative residency at the French Institute, and subsequently our own studio space at London Bridge, where we are still based. It started to make a real shape for the company with this show.

We passed our ten-year anniversary two years ago, but did not celebrate our first decade, and then we got our first of three Offie nominations and thought we ought to celebrate the work we’ve been doing. ‘The’ Flies was the most obvious revival to do because it encapsulates all Exchange Theatre is about. It’s a Greek tragedy revisited by a French philosopher, performed by a bilingual international cast, with a Mauritian composer and a non-western drawn physicality!

CM: You’re directing as well as appearing in the show – is it difficult to do the two at once? Does being part of the cast have an influence on your approach as a director? DF: I think it used to be more complicated, but I’ve grown used to the exercise and have learned how to balance these complexities and use them for the benefit of the show. I was a trained actor first, before turning to directing in 2006, so I direct actors the way I’d like to be directed, following their impulses and preserving their agency. It means that my approach as a director can never be an over-arching knowing figure: I like actors and I love drawing very strong characters by bouncing off their imaginations, in juxtaposition with my imagery.

Being part of the cast also means that I’ve learned along the way, what I can’t do, so I surround myself with movement directors and musical directors or any collaborator who know both what I’m looking for and what they’re doing in order to facilitate it. What’s great as a director is to discover things you had not planned, too, that’s the beauty of collaboration, and then it just creates an even better work than what you had in mind.

CM: Can you tell us a bit about your fellow cast members? DF: First, they’re all bilingual French-speaking actors from a variety of origins, which makes this cast completely unique in London. We have Meena Rayann (Vala in ‘Game of Thrones’) leading as Electra, and she’s from French and diverse North African origins, alongside Samy Elkhatib, who is Egyptian, American and French, and making his professional debut as Orestes. They are joined by Raul Fernandes, Juliet Dante, Soraya Spiers, Jonathan Brandt, Fanny Dulin and myself, and we have French, Mauritian, Belgian and Indian origins as well as bilingual upbringings. Some of the most interesting questions have recently been raised in casting this show, in keeping with the current public debates: we have full gender parity, a diverse cast, a disabled performer. In addition to the cast, we have a very diverse team from the movement director drawing on non-western movement, the composer, to the three musicians from the grunge rock-band A Riot in Heaven and even our whole admin office is diverse. It’s all about the exchange of cultures and ideas at the core of the company.

CM: You’re the artistic director of Exchange Theatre, and you’ve been producing since 2006. What have been the highlights thus far? DF: The milestones are all connected. Since the first production of The Flies and getting our own rehearsal space, we have produced ten years of work so that’s about fifteen productions. Some moments were very interesting because over a whole decade we experimented with many forms of theatre and I turned from being a very vision-driven director, to be more interested in the process and crafting a narrative. I think one of the highlights is certainly after we decided to produce everything in two languages and produced two Moliere plays, and when these plays were Offie-nominated for Best Director, Best Production and Best Video Design. This recognition allowed me to work at the Royal Opera House and the National Theatre as an assistant and it has informed the running of my company so much. This all happened at the same time as Brexit. It’s very polarised. It’s like being told both “you’re welcome” and “you’re not” at the same time.

CM: What’s your own career background? How did you end up working in theatre and did you always want to be a performer? DF: I’ve always wanted to be a performer, for as long as I can remember. Growing up in Mauritius, it wasn’t really a tangible option through my upbringing because there was not really a professional viability in the area. But as a teenager I was in High School in France, and I started doing drama and just got hooked. So after my baccalaureate, I went straight to audition for national French drama schools and after two years I entered the National Theatre of Chaillot in Paris.

After graduating, having been brought up in a bilingual environment, I immediately wanted to come to London. It was back in 2004 and I haven’t left since. So aside from my roles in Exchange Theatre’s shows, I have worked a lot in the Fringe with renowned companies such as The Faction, Border Crossings, Theatre Lab, Voliere, playing great parts too, like Macbeth. In parallel, I have been keeping a strong connection with France, performing regularly in street theatre, or on stage in Bordeaux and Paris whenever I can.

CM: What ambitions do you have for the company in the future? DF: We’re working hard at getting our work to France now, as it is so informed by the cultural bridge we built across the channel. It would be really interesting to see if they perceive us as a British company just like we’re seen as a French company here. We’re also slowly building connections with the academic and research world both in languages and in drama. We took part in a language conference last year, I had an article published in a literary review this year, and one of our translations, Break of Noon by Paul Claudel which I directed last year, is about to be published. We want to keep pursuing these. When we started, we were very inspired by Cheek by Jowl both for the international ambition, and also for what Declan Donnellan brought to the craft of acting in theory. We have something to bring too.

CM: What’s coming up next for you, after this? DF: We have been awarded free business support with Arts Forward and Deutsche Bank and this has helped us to reshape the company with a more sustainable structure, a board, and allowed us to be more ambitious. We have drawn a real five-year plan with international projects as well as local activism around our idea of cultural exchange and inclusivity. We can’t announce what the projects are yet, but we have built a strong relationship with Voila Europe festival and are talking about their next edition in November (we took part in November 2018 with ‘Becoming Berenice’, and in April at Tristan Bates with ‘Noor’). We are also working hard at bringing our unique work to Paris as soon as possible.

‘The Flies’ is on at The Bunker Theatre from 11 Jun-6 Jul. See the venue website here for more information and to book tickets.

LINKS: www.bunkertheatre.com | www.exchangetheatre.com | twitter.com/david_furlong

[newstfionline]

The Irish-American billionaire who gave away his fortune

Conor O’Clery, The Irish Times, Jan 3, 2017

“Chuck Feeney is what Donald Trump would be if he lived his entire existence backwards.” This comment, from one of Mr Feeney’s many admirers, Jim Dwyer of the New York Times, appeared on the dust cover of my biography of the philanthropist, published 10 years ago.

How apt, given the times that are in it, and especially now that the former duty-free billionaire has just achieved his life’s ambition of “giving while living”.

At a small ceremony in New York last month, Chuck Feeney and his foundation, Atlantic Philanthropies, approved a final grant of $7 million (€6.7 million), to his university, Cornell, in upstate New York, which was the recipient of his first donation in 1982.

To emphasise how serious he was about total giving, Mr Feeney once told Warren Buffett he hoped his last cheque would bounce.

The president and chief executive officer of Atlantic Philanthropies, Chris Oechsli, assured me the cheque to Cornell did not bounce.

In its 35-year lifetime, Atlantic Philanthropies (AP) has invested $8 billion (€7.6 billion) in philanthropy, much of it to construct university and hospital buildings and medical research facilities around the world, especially in the US, Ireland, Vietnam, Australia and South Africa.

However, in contrast to US president-elect Trump, whose name appears prominently on his commercial edifices, Mr Feeney has consistently refused to let any building he funded be named after him.

Asked if he would at last bow to pressure from various beneficiaries, including in Ireland, to allow his name on buildings and campuses, Mr Feeney replied, “I have not changed my mind.”

The reclusive 85-year-old philanthropist, an indefatigable world traveller--always in economy class and carrying his papers in a plastic bag--has settled down with his wife Helga to a modest existence in a rented apartment in San Francisco’s Bayside Village.

Now unable to travel for health reasons, he told the assembled AP staff and directors in New York via video link that he had been anticipating the final grant for many years, and that the donation to Cornell in upstate New York was a special moment for him.

“Our grants, now completed, are like sewn seeds which will bear the fruit of good works long after we turn out the lights at 75 Varick Street [AP New York headquarters],” he said.

Frank Rhodes, who was president of Cornell University when Chuck started his grant-making, described Feeney as “the most self-effacing and generous man I have ever met” who completely transformed his university.

Mr Rhodes said that everywhere one looked on the campus of Cornell, including its new faculty in New York, “you can see the evidence of Chuck”.

He recalled how Mr Feeney recruited him to advise University of Limerick then-president, Ed Walsh, on the development of the campus with funding from the foundation.

This was the start of his giving to Ireland, which from 1987 to 2015 would amount to $1.2 billion.

Originally from New Jersey, Chuck Feeney co-founded Duty Free Shoppers (DFS) with an American partner, Bob Miller, in 1965. Two decades later they were both billionaires.

In 1984 the publicity-shy entrepreneur transferred all his wealth to his foundation, including businesses, properties and share-holdings, and began giving in strictly enforced anonymity.

The policy only changed when Atlantic Philanthropies became too big to remain under the radar.

In 1999 Feeney made the momentous decision to give everything away within a defined time-frame, something no major American philanthropy had ever done.

Asked why, Feeney said: “I cannot think of a more personally rewarding and appropriate use of wealth than to give while one is living.” He added with a chuckle, “It beats giving while dead.”

Other reasons he gave have entered Feeney folklore: “You can’t wear two pairs of shoes at a time” and “there are no pockets in a shroud”.

“Chuck’s gift to philanthropy is his challenge to high-net-worth individuals to apply both their wealth and their considerable personal skills to making a difference to people’s lives now,” Mr Oechsli said.

Mr Feeney became a role model for Bill Gates’s effort to get the mega-rich to sign a ‘Giving Pledge’.

“He is the ultimate example of giving while living,” said the Microsoft billionaire and philanthropist.

One of the unique aspects of Feeney’s model is that he could make “big bets”, exceeding the 5 per cent of capital to which major philanthropies restrict their giving.

Atlantic’s final such big bet is an investment of $600 million in a set of grants called “The Atlantic Fellows”, launched last year “to create fairer, healthier and more inclusive societies”.

This includes $177 million jointly to Trinity College Dublin and University of California in San Francisco, to create the Global Brain Heath Institute, designed to train a generation of leaders worldwide to treat and reduce dementia.

“As Atlantic’s largest-ever programme grant, it embodies our commitment to address global challenges with bold initiatives that will serve society for generations to come,” Mr Oechsli said.

Chuck Feeney once wrote, “Fortune doesn’t change a man. It only unmasks him.”

As Jim Dwyer noted, “He is the opposite of the grotesque consumption and excess that has been coursing through American society for decades, where ostentatious wealth is not something to be ashamed of but flattered.”

In 2005, when first meeting Mr Feeney, I asked him if it was true he always wore a $10 Casio watch. “It is,” he said.

“Why do I need a Rolex when it tells the same time?”

He added, “I have a spare one. I’ll sell it to you.” I told him jokingly I couldn’t afford $10. He gave me the Casio anyway. It is still going, and telling the time accurately.