connect 2018 • 94 YOUNG LEADERS SOCIETY NEW YORK New York Young Leaders St. Patrick’s Celebration MARCH, 2018 On Thursday, March 8, The Ireland Funds New York Young Leaders hosted their 13th annual signature fundraiser, The St. Patrick’s Celebration at Espace, which was attended by more than 600 friends and supporters of The Ireland Funds. The event honored Bridget Moynahan with the Irish Spirit Award and two-time New York Giant Superbowl Champion, David Diehl with the Dylan Smith Community Service Award. Pat Tully, Vice President of Development, welcomed guests and introduced Cliona Doyle, Director of the Young Leaders. Cliona thanked the event committee, sponsors and introduced Co-Chairs of the event, Dan Healy and Sinead Faughnan. Dan spoke of David’s contribu- tion to so many charities in the New York and New Jersey area. He also recognized the heroic efforts of Dylan Smith whose life the award commemorates. Sinead Faughnan then introduced the second honoree of the evening, Bridget Moynahan. Bridget is currently starring in the CBS hit show "Blue Bloods". Sinead spoke to the group of Bridget’s Irish upbringing and her great support of many charities. Bridget thanked The Ireland Funds for the award and spoke warmly about her work with Hole in the Wall Gang Camp which The Ireland Funds supports in Ireland. Pat Tully conducted the live auction which included a luxury trip to Ireland and a trip for six to the Kentucky Derby. The fundraising continued with a special appeal for the Irish Arts Center’s capital campaign. The official after party hosted by Union Beer Distributors at Rattle and Hum West. Thank you to our sponsors including: The O’Connor Family, Jameson Irish Whiskey, BFloral, Delta Airlines and BMW. 1 David Diehl, Sinead Faughnan, Bridget Moynahan 2 St Patrick's Day Celebration Committee 3 Bridget Moynahan 4 BFloral Team 5 Bridget Moynahan, John Fitzpatrick 6 Jessica LaSalle, Kevin Bui, Ashley & Dan Healy 7 Siobhan Byrne, Renee Rossi 8 Guests with the Hank Lane Band Photos: James Higgins, Stetson Gleave 1 2 3 4 5 8 7 6