On Saturday, July 30, 2016, The American Ireland Fund (AIF) hosted over 125 people at its annual Nantucket Celebration. Held at the beautiful summer home of Bruce and Elisabeth Percelay, it was a stunning setting for a cocktail party filled with stories, laughter and great Irish spirit, all shared by new and old friends.
The event was co-chaired by Bob & Laura Reynolds, Chris & Ann Quick and Jim & Susan Geraghty, and the evening’s special guest was Irish Ambassador to the United States, Anne Anderson.
The American Ireland Fund New England Director and Vice President of Major Gifts, Steve Greeley, paused to note the recent passing of Suzanne Wright, a long-time AIF supporter in Nantucket and Palm Beach, who, with her husband, Bob, co-founded Autism Speaks, the world’s leading autism science and advocacy organization. Many long-time friends of Suzanne were moved by a rendition of “Danny Boy” sung by noted opera soloist Greta Feeney, dedicated to the memory of Suzanne Wright.
Steve went on to speak about the recent Worldwide Ireland Funds Conference held in Dublin. He underscored the vital work of The Ireland Funds as he described his recent visits to two projects that were recipients of recent American Ireland Fund support: the completion of a 5 GI Unit at Our Lady’s Children’s Hospital Crumlin and The Parent Child Home Programme, a successful initiative preparing children as young as 18 months with the building blocks needed to succeed in education.
Ambassador Anne Anderson eloquently concluded the formal program with remarks about the ever-deepening bonds between Ireland and America strengthened by the positive influence of The Ireland Funds across the island of Ireland. On that positive note, Nantucket’s famous “Spanky’s Raw Bar” and the bars were reopened as the sun sank in the West and the beauty of Nantucket was highlighted by the last rays of a brilliant summer day.
Among the guests attending were: Anne Finucane, AIF National Board member and Vice Chairman of Bank of America; Vanity Fair feature writer Maureen Orth; Jim & Roselee Wayman of Boston and their daughter Lia; Linda Holliday of Hingham. Many thanks to Nantucket Committee Members George Albrecht, Ben Barnes, Bill & Cindy Burke, Kevin Callahan, Bob Crowe, Bart & Lesley Grenier, Linda Holliday, Scott & Sheila Knight, Bob & Laurie Monahan, John Osborn, Bob & Beth Scannell and Guy & Dede Snowden.
Co-Chairs
Bob and Laura Reynolds
Chris and Ann Quick
Jim and Susan Geraghty
Committee
George Albrecht
Amb. Elizabeth Frawley Bagley
Ben Barnes
Tom and Leslie Bresette
Stephen and Susan Burbage
Bill and Cindy Burke
Bob and Paula Butler
Kevin Callahan
Bob Crowe
Danielle deBenedictis and Peter Karlson
Chris Drake
Jack and Lisa Dunfey
Bob and Jeanette Dunfey
Anne Finucane and Mike Barnicle
Marybeth Gilmartin
Mike and Rebecca Greeley
David Gregory and Beth Wilkinson
Bart and Leslie Grenier
Linda Holliday
Jim and Pat Houlihan
Natalie Jacobson
Scott and Sheila Knight
Jack Manning and Lyle Howland
Chris and Kathleen Matthews
Brian and Kelly McKernan
Bob and Laurie Monahan
Maureen Orth
John Osborn
Bruce and Elisabeth Percelay
Tim and Abbey Redmond
Doris Reggie
Luke Russert
Bill and Beth Scannell
Wendy Schmidt
Guy and Dede Snowden
Bob and Marianne Stevenish
Marc White and Stephanie Andrews
Bob and Suzanne Wright
