GREAT BRITAIN AROUND THE WORLD 7 8 1 Sharon Horgan 2 Garrett Hayes, Martin O’Neill OBE 3 Deirdre O’Sullivan 4 Guests 5 Imelda May, Kieran McLoughlin 6 Imelda May 7 Deirdre O’Sullivan, Sharon Horgan 8 John Fitzpatrick, Martin O’Neill, Imelda May, Garrett Hayes, Sharon Horgan Photos: Fergus Burnett connect 2018 • 103 December, 2017 The Ireland Funds Great Britain An- nual Winter Ball returned to London’s world-famous Globe Theatre. From the champagne reception held within the Shake- speare exhibition, guests moved to the elegant Underglobe. Kieran McLoughlin, Worldwide President and CEO of The Ireland Funds welcomed guests and Honorees; Martin O’Neill OBE, from Northern Ireland, who is manager of the Republic of Ireland national football team; John Fitzpatrick, Chairman of The Ireland Funds America; Sharon Horgan, an Irish actress, writer, director and producer who stars in the Emmy-nominated comedy series Catastrophe, which she co-wrote; and Imelda May, singer-songwriter. Kieran then introduced Chairman of The Ireland Funds Great Britain, Garrett Hayes who presented a Dublin Crystal award to Martin O’Neill for his outstanding contribution to Irish Sport. Patrick Tully, Director, The Ireland Funds Young Leaders took the stage and roused guests in sup- port of two chosen charities, The Southwark Irish Pensioners Project which assists elderly members of the Irish community, and the Integrated Education Fund in Northern Ireland which establishes integrated schools and nurtures their success and growth. Deirdre O’Sullivan, Chair of the Gala committee, intro- duced Sharon Horgan and presented her with an award for her outstanding contribution to Irish culture. Lastly, singer song- writer Imelda May was honored for her for her outstanding con- tribution to Irish music. Imelda addressed the crowd with words of gratitude before finishing proceedings by singing an exquisite and moving song called ‘Girl I Used To Be.’ The Ireland Funds Great Britain Winter Ball 1 4 2 5 3 6