[citation needed] He has created numerous successful business networks through his publications including the Wall Street 50, Business 100, Hall of Fame, Legal 100, Silicon Valley 50 magazine in conjunction with the Irish Technology and Leadership Group, and the Science and Technology 50.
In April 2011, at the inaugural Irish America Hall of Fame luncheon, former President Clinton stated that his initial involvement in the Northern Ireland issue has come about through O'Dowd.
[14] He was one of the featured subjects in a major book entitled "Nine Irish Lives" also in March 2018 which named the nine Irish-born Americans who contributed the most to America.
He would rally the world’s wealthiest Irish people and encourage them to invest in Ireland, North and South.
Sinn Féin, though then party president Gerry Adams, stated in mid-June that they had been "lobbied by all the independent candidates" including O'Dowd.
O'Dowd stated his reasons involved "The logistical challenges of running for an office as an independent against established political parties is incredible.
"[19][20] Walter Ellis, writing in The Irish Times remarked that, despite many impressive qualifications, "O'Dowd would not get my vote," calling him "too much of an Irish-American for the Áras.
"[21] Sinn Féin vice-president Martin McGuinness became that party's candidate,[22] with backing from O'Dowd,[23] and came third at 13.7 of the vote.
Writing in The New York Times in March 2017, Liam Stack noted that inaccurate "Irish slavery" claims had been given publicity in mainstream media including Scientific American, Daily Kos, and O'Dowd's IrishCentral.
"[25] Liam Hogan, among others, criticized IrishCentral for being slow to remove from its website two articles (one of them based on a piece that Scientific American quickly withdrew), and for the editorial's drawing comparisons between indentured servitude and slavery.