connect 2018 • 100 AROUND THE WORLD AUSTRALIA November, 2017 The Ireland Funds Australia’s annual flagship event, The Sydney Garden Party took place with a theme of “My Fair Lady” a tribute to the late Lady Mary Fairfax. The marquee looked resplendent with the gardens at Fairwater in full bloom and the lunch attended by a record 570 guests. MC Richard Wilkins AM did a wonderful job for the third year in a row of welcoming a record crowd, outlining the day’s ac- tivities including a Live Auction; offering an Audi A3 thanks to ARN, Ciaran Davis and Peter Cosgrove, Audi Sutherland, Au- tosports Group, thanks to Mario Pandelli and Dwyer Ogle and business class tickets flying Emirates to Ireland, thanks to Tim Harrowell. Chairman Yvonne Le Bas welcomed distinguished guests informing the crowd that we were proud to have made a grant round of $416,000 this year to very worthwhile and impactful projects in Ireland and Australia. Yvonne paid trib- ute to Lady Mary Fairfax not only for her hospitality but also her wonderful generosity to Ireland and its people through her support for integrated education in Northern Ireland. Yvonne presented a bouquet of flowers to Lady Fairfax’s daughter Anna to thank her. Erin Clare sang beautiful renditions including “I Could Have Danced All Night”, songs we felt Lady Fairfax would truly enjoy. Prof. Ronan McDonald led a pledge of further support for integrated education, a cause close to Lady Mary Fairfax’s heart and supporters gave so generously. The party moved down to the water where the Guinness bar and the DJ were in full swing as the sun set over Seven Shillings beach. The 2017 Sydney Garden Party was the most successful to date, both socially and financially, with over 570 guests attending and close to $250,000 profit raised on the day for our flagship projects. This could not have been achieved without the generous support of all involved including our Table Captains and in particular, our major sponsors. 30th Anniversary Sydney Garden Party 1 4 7 8 2 5 3 6 1 Anna Cleary, Yvonne Le Bas, David Cleary 2 Tim Harrowell with Angela & Patrick Gallagher 3 Alan Joyce AC, Richard Wilkins AM, John O’Neill AO 4 Toni Ryan, James Dolton, Annie Cannon-Brookes, Amber Cleary 5 Clara Rodrigus, Lee Thomas 6 Amy Taggart, John Hayles, Rory Cameron, William Twomney 7 Michael O’Connell, KPMG guests 8 Yvonne Le Bas, Teresa Keating Photos: Matt Teague