by Deirdre Woodbyrne | May 19, 2014 | Blog, In The News, Uncategorized
Irish Network USA is proud to once again play a key role in the now annual New York-New Belfast Conference which will take place this year on May 29-30 at Fordham University in New York City. A special 30% discount off the regular registration rate is available to all members of Irish Network USA, click here for more information.
Once again, Steve Lenox, Co-President of Irish Network USA, will serve along with Andrea Haughian of Invest NI and Paul McErlean, Managine Director of MCE Public Relations in Belfast as Conference Moderators. Additionally, Deirdre Woodbyrne, Executive Director of Irish Network USA, will help lead a panel discussion on using networking to engage the Diaspora.
Conference Organizer, and long time friend of Irish Network USA, Mairtin O’Muilleoir, offered his thoughts on the importance of this conference:
“The New York-New Belfast Conference is the largest annual business gathering celebrating and cementing links between the great cities of Belfast and New York. It is the pre-eminent initiative by any community in Ireland to link into Irish America.
The conference was born from the desire of Irish America to build the peace in Belfast with partnerships of commerce, culture and community.
The venue for the summit which attracts between 150-200 leaders from both cities and showcases exciting developments, is Fordham University Lincoln Campus, New York City.
Previous contributors have included architect Daniel Libeskind, NI Finance Minister Sammy Wilson, Congressman Richie Neal, head of Friends of Ireland on Capitol Hill, Loretta Brennan Glucksman, Chair Ireland Funds, author Peter Hamill, US Economic Envoy Declan Kelly and Speaker of New York City Council Christine Quinn.
The conference ranges over an opening evening and full day of exciting events, discussions, debates and presentations, including a luncheon honoring 50 companies with operations in the US and Ireland, a reception at the residence of the Ambassador of Ireland in New York, and the presentation of the Irish American of the Year Award. While the first evening focuses on culture and arts, the day-long plenary concentrates on business linkages between both cities.
The 2014 conference will take place on 29-30 May where speakers will include NI Minister for Justice David Ford, New York State Representatives Brian Kavanagh, Alex Brook-Krasny, Mike Cusick and Mike Fitzpatrick, Andrea Haughian of Invest NI and Alison Metcalfe of Tourism Ireland.
We invite you to come rub shoulders with leading representatives of companies with strong operations in both the US and Ireland: HBO, Citi, NYSE, Aer Lingus, Tourism Ireland, Invest NI, KPMG, Broadway.com, Squire Sanders Dempsey, Bombardier, First Derivatives, Almac, Randox, Concentrix, Magners, UNITED, and Moet-Hennessy, to name just a few.”
To register, go to www.irishecho.com/nynb
by Deirdre Woodbyrne | Apr 30, 2014 | In The News, New Orleans, Press Releases, Uncategorized
Two Local High School Students to Attend University College Dublin High School Summer Program
New Orleans, LA– Irish Network New Orleans (IN-NOLA), a chapter of Irish Network USA (INUSA), announced recently that local high school students Helene Lovette and Holly Smith were this year’s winners of IN-NOLA’s annual scholarship contest. Selected from more than 20 applicants, Helene and and Holly will now have the opportunity to attend University College Dublin’s (UCD) High School Summer Program free of charge. Funds for the scholarship were raised by IN-NOLA members through membership funds and various events held throughout the year. The scholarship includes full tuition, travel and accommodation.
“We are so proud to be able to offer these two outstanding young students an opportunity to travel to and study in Ireland as part of this exclusive program this summer,” stated Adrian D’Arcy, President, Irish Network New Orleans. “Since launching Irish Network New Orleans in 2011 it has been our mission to strengthen the connections between the City we have chosen to live in and raise families with the place that we all will always call ‘home’. We believe in using the power of education to help accomplish this and are grateful to all who participated in its success.”
Dr. Laura Kelley, Chair of the Scholarship Committee, commended all of the students that participated in this year’s contest and noted that “the ability of Helene and Holly to so eloquently connect the events surrounding the Irish Famine and the much more recent and local disaster of Hurricane Katrina with the strength of community really moved the scholarship committee. We look forward to hearing how their experience in Dublin this summer shapes their outlook on the communities around them.”
This year’s scholarship contest was opened up to high school juniors from throughout New Orleans with applications coming from a diverse range of students. In response to the City of New Orleans being selected by the Irish Government to host the 2014 International Famine Commemoration applicants were given the theme “The Great Famine and Hurricane Katrina, How Disaster Defines Us” and asked to consider the similarities and differences between these two events, consider the survival strategies employed by these communities and to consider how these disasters defined both places. Essays had to be 500 to 1000 words in length.
“Through this contest and scholarship award made possible by an all-volunteer organization, Irish Network New Orleans is showing that they are part of the very best the Irish Diaspora has to offer,” stated Deirdre Woodbyrne, Executive Director, Irish Network USA. “As we look forward towards out first annual conference later this year, and the launch of our 18th and 19th chapters, we use what IN-NOLA has done as a guide to the sort of impact our chapters can make in their local communities as well back home.”
Irish Network USA is the national umbrella organization integrating the Irish networks that exist in various cities across the United States. Currently, Irish Network chapters can be found in Seattle, Bay Area (California), San Diego, Nevada, Phoenix, Colorado, Austin, New Orleans, Chicago, Minnesota, Cleveland, Washington DC, Delaware, Philadelphia, New Jersey, New York City, Delaware and Boston. An 18th and 19th chapter will be launched later this year in Buffalo, NY and Houston, TX.
About the winners:
Helene Lovett:
Helene attends Lusher Charter School. She loves creative writing and science and is interested in establishing cross-cultural connections with teens from different backgrounds. She makes these connections locally with through art by serving on a board of high schoolers to create arts opportunities for a diverse group of New Orleans teens, and internationally by skyping Jordanian students about cultural perspectives on climate change. She can’t wait to learn about Irish culture this summer!
Click here to read Helene’s Essay.
Holly Smith:
Holly is a junior at Metairie Park Country Day School. She runs cross country, track, and plays a little bit of soccer. Holly is the editor of the school magazine, Eh, La-Bas!, an inductee of Country Day’s first National Honor Society Chapter, and has participated in two of Country Day’s exchange programs: one to Paris, France and the other to Cape Town and Bulungula, South Africa. Over the summer Holly has worked at Mr. Fish Swim School where she teaches young children swimming. Holly’s interests include reading, movies, and hanging out with her friends.
Click here to read Holly’s Essay.
Click here to learn more about UCD’s program.
Contact:
Adrian D’Arcy
(504) 701-8466
Deirdre Woodbyrne
(201) 669-0720
by Deirdre Woodbyrne | Apr 23, 2014 | Blog
By Sean Moynihan, President of Irish Network Boston on a recent visit by Belfast Mayor Mairtin O’Muilleoir.
If the level of energy of Belfast’s Lord Mayor is any indication, the north of Ireland is on the right track and doing extremely well. Not that it surprises anyone who has taken notice. Hosting companies like AllState, Liberty Mutual, CVS, Chicago Mercantile Exchange, NY Stock Exchange, Intel, Concentrix, and Citi; Belfast and the North are hosts to major blue chip American companies. Let’s not forget an incredibly successful City of Culture 2013 and 2013 All Ireland Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann for Derry – a city that has consequently been at the forefront of world wide press for all the right reasons.
Some other interesting facts about the northern part of the country:
• One of youngest cities in Europe, almost 1 in 5 under 15;
• Biggest film production in Europe last year with $700m in Belfast, Game of Thrones;
• Biggest investment at university level in Europe – currently University of Ulster at $400m to create new campus in inner city;
• Biggest stadium development in Europe taking place in Belfast now with new Gaelic $120m stadium, soccer $45m, and Rugby $30m.
Lord Mayor Máirtín Ó Muilleoir is no stranger to the city of Boston. I have known and worked with him since 2007 when the Irish Echo first launched the Golden Bridges Awards Ceremony, which has become an annual event honoring the likes of Senate President Therese Murray, Lt Governor Tim Murray, Sister Lena Deevy and many others.
This visit, however, was of particular significance as he and our new Mayor Marty Walsh, who in just 3 months is making major positive changes for Boston, agreed in principle to a sister city arrangement that will most certainly prove mutually beneficial. Improv Asylum, a TMG client, which has grown in both Boston – Laugh Boston was launched under a year ago – and Ireland – IA Innovations was launched in Dublin; has begun initial conversations with Ó Muilleoir and others for a possible expansion in Belfast.
Boston has been just one of his many stops throughout the States and the world over for Ó Muilleoir over the past 10 months as he flies the flag for Belfast and the North. We had the pleasure of catching up at a breakfast sponsored by Invest Northern Ireland, under the successful leadership of all stars Gary Hanley and John Logan.
I will see the Lord Mayor this Summer in Belfast and then again in October for the annual Northwest of Ireland Conference and Golden Bridges award ceremonies. Something tells me there will be more positive news coming our way from across the Atlantic.
by Deirdre Woodbyrne | Apr 6, 2014 | Blog
By: Steve Lenox, Co-President
In cities across America Irish Network USA and its chapters are connecting Irish, Irish Americans and ‘friends’ of Ireland. These connections happen in a variety of forums- film screenings, networking happy hours, fundraising galas, etc. The common thread through all of these though is our commitment to making sure our members are meeting face to face.
Emails, tweets and the occasional phone call are all modern conveniences that keep us connected when the miles separate us, and we of course take advantage of our robust social media and web presence, but it is clear that there is no substitute for making direct connections.
Our friend Pat Carroll, a Digital Marketer in Limerick, Ireland, and a driving force behind the continued success of IIBN in New York City, Dublin and London, captured perfectly the importance of and strategies to connect both offline and online.
We are proud to share his 10 Habits for Highly Effective Networking.
We know you’ll like what you read! Find out more by following him on LinkedIn and on Twitter at @PatCarrollTouch.
by Deirdre Woodbyrne | Mar 27, 2014 | Blog
Irish Network USA Encourages Members to ‘Engage’ with Irish Government
By: Steve Lenox, Co-President
At the core of Irish Network USA’s mission are efforts to connect Irish and Irish American communities across the United States with each other- and also back home to Ireland. These efforts come in many forms: business networking, celebration of Irish arts and culture, supporting efforts to populate local pitches with top class Hurling and Gaelic Football players.
We take special pride in our ability to bring the entire community together in recognition of our common bonds to Ireland. At any of our chapter’s events, now spread out to 16 cities in every corner of America, you are as likely to find yourself shoulder to shoulder with a firefighter as you are a Fortune 500 business executive. It is as common to be sought after for advice from a newly arrived immigrant seeking to set a new course in life as it is to get advice from a ‘veteran’ who set roots in the US decades ago and started their own chapter in the great story of the Irish Disapora.
In just the past 18 months alone we have been proud to support efforts by the Irish Government to further strengthen the ties that bind two great nations together. Whether it was helping to roll out efforts to bring the Diaspora home for the Gathering, or encouraging our members to fully exercise their ability to be a “Connector” and attract even more great companies to Ireland’s shores, we have shown that there is a spot for every person of Irish descent to play a role in the resurgence of an island we all refer to as “home”.
The Irish Government and its representatives in the United States have been with Irish Network USA every step of the way throughout our growth. Opening the doors of the Embassy and Consulates, attending our events, and allowing for our members to communicate in a meaningful way with visiting dignitaries are but a few examples of the tremendous support we have received. They have also struck a critical balance recognizing that our road to success and growth is one for us to plow, always leaving it to us to set the agenda and goals for the future. We have been proud to engage with Government and know that these bonds will only grow stronger.
We welcome the recent invitation by Tanaiste and Minster for Foreign Affairs Eamon Gilmore for Irish abroad to participate in a comprehensive review of Ireland’s Diaspora policy. We know that the views within the ranks of Irish Network USA in this regard are as diverse as our membership itself, and that’s why we encourage all of our members to take this opportunity to be heard.
Submissions are due by April 23, 2014 for more information, check out this website.
https://www.dfa.ie/our-role-policies/the-irish-abroad/diaspora-policy-review/
by Deirdre Woodbyrne | Mar 26, 2014 | All Chapters, Event Information, In The News, Networking, New Orleans, News
http://www.irishnetworkneworleans.org/Default.aspx?pageId=1065837&eventId=856866&EventViewMode=EventDetails
New Orleans has been selected by the Irish Government to host the 2014 International Irish Famine Commemoration (IFC) which will honor New Orleans’ Irish and celebrate the triumph of Famine survivors in the face of tremendous adversity with several activities scheduled November 6th through November 9th. Previously selected cities include New York, Sydney, Liverpool and Toronto.
Activities during the four day event will have a distinctly New Orleans flavor as the city’s Irish and Irish American community rally for this historic remembrance. The IN-NOLA Black-Tie Gala is one of the weekend’s highlights.
Illustrating the importance of the Gala, many Irish dignitaries are expected to attend including Culture Minister Jimmy Deenihan, the Irish Ambassador to the United States, H.E. Anne Anderson, and, it is hoped, the Irish President, Michael D. Higgins.
For this special occasion IN-NOLA has secured the great (and aptly named) Celtic rock band, Black 47. Led by Irish author, and playwright, Larry Kirwan, Black 47 play a uniquely Irish form of rock ‘n’ roll that touches on many social and political issues, and yet is never less than entertaining and riveting
Tara O’Grady and her Black Velvet Band will also provide musical entertainment. Tara O’Grady is the full package, combining celtic, folk, blues, and especially jazz in her unique style. Of course, as always, the IN-NOLA gala will feature traditional Irish music and dance presented by local groups.
Currently registration for the Gala is open for IN-NOLA members and members from our sister IN-USA chapters at a discounted price until May 1st. After May 1st, Gala ticket prices will increase by $50 per ticket. These tickets will be available to both the general public and to IN-NOLA members.
The code is: IFCGALA
For more information on the event and to purchase tickets, please go to;
http://www.irishnetworkneworleans.org/Default.aspxpageId=1065837&eventId=856866&EventViewMode=EventDetails
