On Wednesday June 7th 2023, The Ireland Funds Chicago Regional Advisory Committee hosted its 2023 Chicago Dinner Kick Off Event at Chicago Cut Steakhouse.
The evening began with The Ireland Funds Vice President of Development Midwest, Áine Mallaghan, thanking the committee for its ongoing support and reminded the group of the impact it is making across the island of Ireland. Áine highlighted the recent Heart of the Community grant rounds in Ireland and the numerous organizations and groups that are benefiting from that.
Committee Co-Chair, Devon Bruce welcomed Irish Consul General, Kevin Byrne. Kevin spoke about the importance of the work that The Ireland Funds undertakes in Ireland and how impactful it has been and highlighted the recent visit by President Biden to the Mayo Roscommon Hospice, an organization that has been supported by The Ireland Funds. Devon introduced two new committee members who joined earlier this year, Aaron Cox, CFO of Horizon Therapeutics and Brian Duffy, Managing Director at Grant Thornton. Devon spoke about the this year’s Annual Dinner, which will be held on Tuesday, November 7th, 2023 at the Four Seasons Hotel, Chicago and thanked everyone for their support of the event and spoke about how good it feels to be back working on what is the best party in Chicago.
This year, The Ireland Funds will be honoring Abbott with the Corporate Social Responsibility Award and Devon introduced Jenna Daugherty, VP of Corporate and Civic Relations. Abbott has been in Ireland since 1946 and is home to over 5,500 employees across 10 sites. The company recently broke ground on a new site in Kilkenny, investing 440 million euro in this site and in an existing site in County Donegal, creating an additional 1,000 jobs. Abbott a hugely important investor in Ireland and we are delighted to honor the substantial and valued contribution Abbott makes to the regional economies of Ireland and the people that live there.
The Ireland Funds will be announcing the recipient of The Ireland Funds Leadership Award in the coming weeks.
Devon thanked Matt Moore and his team for a wonderful evening of the best hospitality at Chicago Cut Steakhouse.
The evening was an opportunity for longstanding friends as well as new supporters to connect with the mission of The Ireland Funds.
