On Thursday, March 6th, the Ireland Young Leaders gathered for their first annual St. Patrick’s Celebration overlooking Dublin at the Gravity Bar in the Guinness Storehouse. A vibrant crowd of over 140 guests enjoyed an evening of music and entertainment all while raising money to support the Promising Ireland Campaign.
Honoree Brian O’Driscoll was unfortunately struck down with an illness on the night and could not attend but Shane Horgan graciously stepped in to accept The Inaugural Spirit of Ireland Award in Brian’s honor. Shane was a wonderful guest and engaged the crowd as he spoke on the importance of leadership. Whether it is when you are down by a try on the rugby pitch or raising money to support non-profits during tough economic times, he believes true leaders emerge during times of adversity.
Entertainment was supplied by Comedian Barry Muprhy, of Apres Match who provided endless laughs with his German alter ego and spiced up your standard raffle draw by putting guests head to head with trivia questions to earn their desired prize! The night was far from over as Delorentos, an up and coming local band played songs from their latest album, Little Sparks.
Special thanks to our lead sponsor, Mason Hayes & Curran and our event sponsor Prospectus Consulting whose generosity made this event possible. Also, thank you to Diageo Ireland and the Guinness Storehouse who enabled us to use such an iconic location and drink Ireland famous black stuff straight from the source.
Celebrating their commitment to the Promising Ireland Campaign, the Committee for this event and the Ireland Young Leaders all helped create a truly exceptional, memorable and successful evening in true Irish fashion.
The award presented to Brian O'Driscoll was a hand crafted wood carving of the island of Ireland designed and crafted by Kyle McMahon, NFTE’s Youth Entrepreneur of the Year 2011. NFTE is an organization that has received support through The Ireland Funds’ grant round. The award represented of the great work of young people assisted by both NFTE and The Ireland Funds.
