On Saturday, July 25, 2009, The American Ireland Fund (AIF) hosted over 175 people at their annual Nantucket Celebration held at the Nantucket home of Putnam Investments President and Chief Executive Officer Bob Reynolds and his wife Laura.
Among the guests attending were Senator John Kerry, Bank of America’s Anne Finucane and her husband Mike Barnicle (MSNBC), Congressman William Delahunt, Jack Manning (Boston Capital Corporation) and his wife Lyle Howland, Peter Palandjian (Intercontinental Real Estate Corporation) and his wife Minou, and political host and MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” Joe Scarborough.
This year’s Nantucket Celebration was co-chaired by MSNBC’s Chris Matthews and his wife Kathleen Matthews (Marriott International) and honored Ambassador Elizabeth Frawley Bagley, who has been a political activist and government official for more than 30 years. She has held leadership positions including U.S. Ambassador to Portugal, Senior Advisor to the Secretary of State and Senate Liaison for NATO Enlargement. Ambassador Bagley recently was appointed Special Representative to the Secretary of State for Global Partnerships. She also serves on a number of national and international boards, including The American Ireland Fund.
U2 and The Ireland Funds
The American Ireland Fund’s Executive Director Steve Greeley used the occasion to announce a new AIF initiative with the Irish rock band U2 who will donate 5 million euro to The Ireland Funds with the AIF committing to raise 2 million euro for the establishment of music programs in the primary schools or Ireland. Ireland is the only European country lacking such programs at this time.
