Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60 Page 61 Page 62 Page 63 Page 64 Page 65 Page 66 Page 67 Page 68 Page 69 Page 70 Page 71 Page 72 Page 73 Page 74 Page 75 Page 76 Page 77 Page 78 Page 79 Page 80 Page 81 Page 82 Page 83 Page 84 Page 85 Page 86 Page 87 Page 88 Page 89 Page 90 Page 91 Page 92 Page 93 Page 94 Page 95 Page 96 Page 97 Page 98 Page 99 Page 100 Page 101 Page 102 Page 103 Page 104 Page 105 Page 106 Page 107 Page 108connect 2017 • 71 washington d.c. around the world September, 2016 Over 140 supporters of The Ireland Funds packed Bobby Van’s Grill as the Washington, DC Young Lead- ers hosted their signature Halfway to St. Patrick’s Day Celebra- tion and recognized the evening’s Patriot Award Honoree Dillon Behr. National Director of the Young Leaders, Pat Tully, greeted the supporters and introduced Stewart Matthews, First Secre- tary of the Northern Ireland Bureau, who spoke about the great partnership between The Ireland Funds and Northern Ireland and all of the organizations that have benefitted from Ireland Funds’ events. Michael Lonergan, Deputy Head of Mission from the Embassy of Ireland, thanked The Ireland Funds for 40 years of support of Irish charities. Megan Molloy was recognized and thanked for serving several years as Steering Committee Chair. Megan then introduced Vice Steering Chair Patrick Lyden who spoke about the network that the DC Young Leaders have built. He then introduced Congressman Tom Rooney of Florida who spoke about his family’s connection to the rich history of The Ireland Funds, started by his uncle Dan Rooney. Congress- man Rooney, who sits on the Committee for Veterans Affairs, introduced Patriot Award Honoree Dillon Behr, and highlighted Dillon’s heroism in Afghanistan in a fight that was memorial- ized by National Geographic Channel in a television series titled No Man Left Behind. Dillon thanked The Ireland Funds and accepted the award on behalf of the other soldiers in his unit that bravely fought with him in Afghanistan against the Taliban. Special thanks to the event committee and the sponsors for the evening, led by Merrill Lynch, the Northern Ireland Bureau, Oldcastle, Jameson Irish Whiskey, Bobby Van’s Grille as well as The Dupont Circle Hotel. October, 2016 The Washington, DC Young Leaders and friends gathered for Samhain: An Irish Halloween celebra- tion, hosted by Deputy Chief of the Irish Mission, Michael Lonergan at the Embassy of Ireland. Michael welcomed the Young Leaders, spoke about the ancient Halloween traditions in Ireland and thanked them for their support of Ireland. Michael also spoke about how he and his family recently par- ticipated in the 3rd annual Ireland Funds Young Leaders Global 5K that had taken place in 16 global cities on September 24th. National Director of the Young Leaders Pat Tully then spoke about the great job the Young Leaders did in hosting their signatureevent,HalfwayToSt.Patrick’sDayCelebration,followed the next morning by their leg of the Global 5K. In her farewell as Steering Committee Chair, Megan Molloy spoke about assembling a committee to put together the 7th Annual Young Leaders Summit, to be hosted in Washington, DC in 2018. Conrad Daly went all out for the grand “Best Mask” prize, which was for a two-night stay in The Fitzpatrick Grand Central Hotel during the 6th annual Young Leaders Summit in New York in January, 2017. The evening continued on with live music and an after-party at The Fainting Goat. Washington D.C. Young Leaders Halfway to St. Patrick’s Day Celebration Washington D.C. Young Leaders Halloween Party 1 1 2 2 3 3 1 Karen McMonagle, Patrick Lyden, Megan Molloy, Kevin Murphy, Pat Tully, Mary Bray, Carissa Gaine, John Gaine, Kelly Dragelin, Lauren Worley 2 Michael Lonergan, Deputy Head of Mission, Embassy of Ireland; Congressman Tom Rooney; Dillon Behr; Stewart Matthews, First Secretary of The Northern Ireland Bureau 3 Brenan Martin, Krista Johnson, Carissa Gaine, John Gaine 1 Conrad Daly, Megan Molloy, Pat Tully 2 Patrick Lyden, Cathal Corcoran 3 Megan Cloherty, Carissa Gaine, Kelly Dragelin, Andrew Walsh