THE NEW YORK DINNER 2002

The American Ireland Fund's 27th Annual New York Dinner Gala on May 2nd at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, has raised a record $3 million.

The staggering sum represents the most successful event in the history of the Worldwide Ireland Funds. An original goal of $2 million, The Fund's New York supporters blew past this target by a million dollars!

Always a highlight on the New York social calendar, The AIF-NY gala attracted 1500 attendees who packed the dance-floor and both tiers of The Grand Ballroom of the venerable Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. In addition, Ireland's Grammy award-winning musicians, The Chieftains, received The AIF's 2002 Performing Arts Award in recognition of the band's milestone 40th anniversary.

Dinner Chairman, Robert J. McCann, Senior Vice President and Director of Global Securities Research and Economics at Merrill Lynch, also presented the inaugural Leslie C. Quick, Jr. Leadership Award to dinner honoree, Christopher M. (Kip) Condron, President & CEO of AXA Financial, Inc. He received this honor for his considerable dedication and generosity to The American Ireland Fund.

The evening was an occasion to highlight the AIF's Disaster Relief Fund donation and disbursement of $1 million to 9/11 disaster-related charities, including several which benefitted children and the families of uniformed rescue workers -some of whom were able to join us for the night.

Photo Index 1 The New York Dinner Commitee 2 Bob McCann's daughters, Meredith and Madeline 3 Kip Condron, Loretta Brennan Glucksman and Bob McCann 4 Hunter & Valerie Allen with Sheila O'Malley Fuchs & Joe Fuchs 5 Fire Department Chaplain Father Chris Keenan, Bill Booker, AIF Co-founder Dan Rooney & Bob McCann 6 Dr. Robin O'Reilly with Eithne Healy and friends 7 The fabulous room at the Waldorf Astoria 8 The Chieftains 9 John O'Donohue and friends 10 Kathleen Lynch with Mary & Martin Kehoe 11 The New York Dinner 12 Bob McCann, Kip Condron, Chris Quick 13 Keith Lippert, Bill McNally, Connie Lippert, John O'Sullivan 14 Loretta Brennan Glucksman with Chietftain Paddy Maloney 15 Fire Department Chaplain Father Chris Keenan 16 Valerie & John McCann with The Chieftains 17 Irish Tenor Ronan Tynan graces Loretta Brennan Glucksman with a birthday serenade 18 Jim Burke, Crisler Quick, Terry Meehan, Meg Galistinos, Peter Quick & Stephane Galistinos 19 Kevin Kennedy, Police Officer Steve McDonald, Fire Department Chaplain Fr. Chris Keenan 20 Dan and Kathleen O'Toole, Senator Maurice Hayes 21 Massimo Boccia, Aidan & Liza O'Connor, New York Regional Director of the AIF, Carla Capone, Ronan Tynan & Rosemary Palmer 22 Sheila O'Malley Fuchs & Joseph Fuchs with Felice Lippert & Loretta Brennan Glucksman 23 The New York Dinner 24 Previous dinner chairman Jim Higgins with wife Jackie 25 Loretta Brennan Glucksman celebrating her May 2nd birthday surrounded by family and friends including her sons, John and Chris Cooney, as well as Kingsley Aikins & Kip Condron 26 Hunter & Victoria Allen 27 Sheila O'Malley, Millie Brinn, Maura Weissman & Danni Braverman 28 Young New York supporters tearing up the after-Dinner dance floor