The Irish Repertory Theatre’s Annual Gala, held last Monday was a night to remember as one of the biggest and best events that I have ever attended. I just relished the fact that I was among an all-star cast thanks to Ciaran O’Reilly and Charlotte Moore who made it all happen.
This year’s Gala, directed and arranged by Charlotte Moore with full orchestra and chorus under the direction of John Bell, honored President Bill Clinton for his role in the peace process in The North, the award being present by actor Alec Baldwin.
All of this with Michael Cerveris and his Loose Cattle Band, Max Von Essen, Melissa Errico, Nathan Gunn, Donna Kane, Rebecca Luker, Robert Mack, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Ciarán Sheehan, Riverdance composer Bill Whelan, joined by musicians and dancers, and a special appearance by Judy Collins.
Artistic honorees Terry Donnelly and John Keating were also recognized for sustained excellence throughout Irish Rep’s 30 years.
At the post-performance dinner I got to meet President Bill Clinton, Hilary Clinton, Roma Dowing, Malachy McCourt, Frank McCourt’s wife Ellen, Ciaran Sheehan, publisher Niall O’Dowd, Patricia Harty, and Brendan O’Reilly who I have to thank for the invite and lots more.
I will treasure the memories of this night for a long long time, to be Irish and to be invited to an event that is a fundraiser for a great company like The Irish Repertory; it makes me very proud to be here in the biggest city in the world, New York. Now where would yea get it?
Another fabulous event I was invited to was the 2019 Ireland-U.S Council Scholars Presentation Lunch in the The Metropolitan Club in New York City.
The scholars were Conor McKeon who is a native of Galway and a student at NUI Galway where he is pursuing a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry. He has been nominated to work with Pfizer in New York City; Lauryn Hollywood, from Omagh, County Tyrone in Northern Ireland who is enrolled at Queen’s University Belfast studying for a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance having finished her final year of the four-year degree course. This year Lauryn (who participated in the 2018 Student Scholarships Program for the Summer months) returns for a year-long appointment to work at Prudential Financial in Jersey City.
Dylan Willis, who lives in Clonskeagh in Dublin, is studying for a Bachelor of Science degree in Financial Mathematics at University College Dublin. He will also work at Prudential Financial in Jersey City. Seán McMahon, a native of Dundalk, County Louth is studying for a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Biology with Statistics and Data Analytics. He will work in New York City at the offices of First Data Corporation. Brian McPartland who hails from Doon, County Limerick is studying for a Bachelor of Business Studies degree at the University of Limerick. He will work here in New York City at offices of Mutual of America in Midtown Manhattan.
Ross Archibald is a native of Ballymoney, County Antrim. He is attending Ulster University pursuing his Bachelor of Science with Honors in Business Studies with Computing. He has traveled to Morristown, New Jersey where he is already working in the offices of CIE Tours International.
As you can read I had a busy week and yes I did a little bit of swimming in between covering these events. Well somebody has to do it.
We have a few photographs of The Irish Repertory Theatre’s Annual Gala in next week’s newspaper.
See you all again next week when I am Out&About again.