Partnership supporters and friends packed the room at the Cosmos Club in Washington D.C. on January 9 as we honored United States Ambassador to Ireland Claire Cronin. Ambassador Cronin marked Nollaig na mBan this year with a fireside conversation with Catríona Perry, Chief Presenter at BBC News.
We had the pleasure of hearing remarks from Orla Keane, Deputy Ambassador of Ireland to the United States, and Andrew Elliot, Director of the Northern Ireland Bureau. The event’s introduction began with the national anthem, sung by Mary Conroy Henderson, and closed with an invocation by Rear Admiral Margaret Grun Kibben.
Our diplomatic vanguard of women’s leadership was so warm in describing her childhood in Brockton, Massachusetts, her politically-minded mother, and her journey to the State House as a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives from the 11th Plymouth district. Our thanks too, to our wonderful interviewer, BBC News Chief Presenter, Caitriona Perry.
We congratulate Ambassador Cronin, who continues to make an impact both in the US and in Ireland, where she travels extensively. In recognition of our honoree, the Partnership was delighted to present a $10,000 grant to Scoil Eoghan in Moville, County Donegal, the homeplace of Ambassador Cronin's forebears, through our halllmark O’Neill School Grants program. This program connects people back to the places from which they or their ancestors have come and has enormous impact on primary schools.
Special thanks to our Honorary Chair Ambassador Geraldine Byrne Nason, and to our Host Committee and generous Sponsors.
Together, we invest in the people, the culture, and the ideas that are writing the next chapter in Irish history. We are so grateful to count you among the friends of the Partnership.
