The American Ireland Fund hosted its milestone 40th Annual New York Dinner Gala on Thursday evening, May 7, 2015 in New York City. The Ireland Funds were founded in 1976 by Sir Anthony O’Reilly and Ambassador Dan Rooney at an inaugural dinner held in New York City. Four decades later, the New York Dinner Gala has now raised over $50 million of support for the philanthropic work of The American Ireland Fund.
The event on May 7 raised $4.3 million marking another milestone in establishing the 2015 New York Gala as the most successful event ever held by The Worldwide Ireland Funds.
“Tonight, we celebrate the vision and courage of Tony O’Reilly and Dan Rooney in establishing the Fund at our very first New York dinner in May, 1976,” said Kieran McLoughlin, President & CEO of The Worldwide Ireland Funds. “Just as the honoree that first night was a relatively unknown Irish Senator named Mary Robinson who went on to become the President of Ireland, that pioneering dinner was the seed for the Fund to become one of Ireland’s largest private grant makers. Despite all the changes and challenges of the last four decades, the mission Tony and Dan set out that night to strengthen the island of Ireland, remains as relevant and as necessary as ever.”
Over 1,000 guests from the spheres of business, the arts and politics attended the Gala at the Grand Hyatt New York at Grand Central. It is the largest of the 100 global events hosted annually by The Worldwide Ireland Funds. The 2015 American Ireland Fund New York Dinner Gala was chaired by Robert J. McCann, President Americas, UBS AG. The event celebrated Irish culture and heritage and generated much-needed funds for The Worldwide Ireland Funds’ Promising Ireland Campaign which has assisted over 650 Irish charities to-date.