On Tuesday, October 29th, the Washington, DC Young Leaders gathered at the Irish Embassy for “Samhain,” an Irish Halloween.
This event has become a tradition for the Young Leaders and follows their annual signature fundraiser, the “Halfway to St. Patrick’s event.” The event is complimentary and is a benefit to our Young Leader Members. Other invited guests included our sponsors from the “Halfway” event including; Microsoft, Zurich, The Dupont Hotel, The Northern Ireland Bureau, The Wine & Spirit Wholesalers of America, Jameson & Merrill Lynch.
Halloween masks were considered “mandatory” so to ensure that, guests who showed up without a mask were greeted at the door with a choice of masks and of course, Halloween candy.
Cocktails and hors d’oeuvres were served while the guests were entertained by the sounds of the great Danny Burns Band.
Kevin Conmy, Deputy Chief of Mission, greeted the crowd with a welcome on behalf of the Embassy of Ireland and introduced Ireland’s first female Ambassador to The United States, Anne Anderson.
Ambassador Anderson greeted the Young Leaders and recognized them as the next generation of great philanthropists and friends of Ireland. The Ambassador then introduced our National Director of the Young Leaders, Pat Tully, who thanked the sponsors of our signature event and thanked the Young Leaders Steering Committee in DC for their faith and loyalty in our mission to help Ireland through The Ireland Funds Promising Ireland Campaign at a time when it is truly needed.
Steering Committee Chair Megan Molloy then reminded everyone that we were together to celebrate the success of the “Halfway” event and encourage members to attend the Young Leaders Summit in January in New York. Megan then introduced Patrick Lyden, Steering Committee Vice-Chair who recognized the great relationship we have with the Irish Embassy and The Northern Ireland Bureau and how those partnerships help us go out there and do our jobs better for the entire Island of Ireland.
When the evening reached a crescendo, we awarded prizes to the best and most creative masks on the evening. Megan Molloy and Patrick Lyden announced the winner and congratulations to Hazel Macdonald who won the grand prize and will receive complimentary tickets to the NY signature St. Patrick’s fundraiser and the DC “Halfway” event in 2014.
Special thanks to Susan O’Neill and Associates, our volunteer photographer John McShane, Kevin Comny, Jameson Irish Whiskey and Ambassador Anderson has only been on the job a few months but has graciously taken time out of her incredibly busy schedule twice to attend our Young Leader events in Washington, DC.