Performing Arts Award
Liam Neeson
Academy Award and Tony Award Nominated Actor Liam Neeson’s work has left an indelible impression on the minds and imaginations of film-goers throughout the world for the past 30 years. His landmark film performances include the Academy Award nominated role of Oskar Schindler in Steven Spielberg’s acclaimed Schindler’s List ; his award-winning portrayal of the legendary Irish Republican hero in Michael Collins; the controversial sex therapist Alfred Kinsey in the critically commended Kinsey; the title role in Michel Canton-Jones’ Rob Roy ; Jean Valjean in the recent re-make of Les Miserables; and his highly-praised turn as a deaf and mute Vietnam veteran in Peter Yates’ courtroom drama Suspect.

Born in Northern Ireland, he had originally sought a career as a teacher but today through his more than 40 film roles, Mr. Neeson has established himself as one of the great stage actors of Ireland, England and the United States.

Mr. Neeson made his Broadway debut in 1993 receiving a Tony Award nomination in the Roundabout Theater Company revival of Eugene O’Neill’s 1921 drama Anna Christie, co-starring his wife Natasha Richardson. Subsequent Broadway performances include the role of Oscar Wilde in David Hare’s The Judas Kiss; and as John Proctor in the Arthur Miller classic The Crucible, for which he received his second “Best Actor” Tony nomination.

Mr. Neeson’s many awards and nominations include a “Best Actor” award from the Los Angeles Film Critics Association for Kinsey ; “Best Actor” honors at the Venice Film Festival and from London’s prestigious Evening Standard Awards, as well as a Golden Globe “Best Actor” nomination for his work in Michael Collins. In addition to his “Best Actor” Oscar nomination for Schindler’s List, Mr. Neeson was also nominated for a BAFTA Award and the Golden Globe.

The American Ireland Fund honors Mr. Neeson at this year’s New York Gala Dinner for friendship he has shown The American Ireland Fund and for the time and talent he has volunteered to help promote its mission. Moreover, we celebrate his artistic integrity and achievements, and his role as artistic ambassador from Ireland to the world.

Humanitarian Award
Lewis L. Glucksman
Wall Street Leader and Philanthropist Lewis Glucksman began his Wall Street career as a gifted trader, becoming a partner at Lehman Brothers in 1966 and CEO in 1983. After Lehman was sold to American Express in 1984, Mr. Glucksman moved to Smith Barney, part of the financial conglomerate now known as Citigroup, to oversee trading operations until he retired in 1999. Mr. Glucksman was renowned throughout Wall Street for his ability to spot and nurture talent and many of today’s top business leaders were Mr. Glucksman’s protégés.

Mr. Glucksman was a graduate of the College of William and Mary and New York University, where he later taught in the school of business and helped finance the Lewis Glucksman Institute of Research in Securities Markets. The American Ireland Fund posthumously honors Mr. Glucksman for his tireless dedication to the Emerald Isle. As a sailor during World War II, Mr. Glucksman discovered Ireland and fell instantly in love. His devotion inspired the creation with his wife, Loretta Brennan Glucksman, of a Center for Irish Studies at NYU, a vision realized with the establishment of Glucksman Ireland House in 1993.

Through their continuing commitment to and generous endowment of its academic and cultural activities, the Glucksmans have fostered vibrant programs of study in Irish language, literature, history and music and the use of Glucksman Ireland House as a bridge between Ireland and America. Today it is home to one of the top Irish Studies programs in the U.S., including a new Masters Program in Irish and Irish-American Studies.

Mr. Glucksman helped raise funds for many of the peace and educational initiatives of The American Ireland Fund. He promoted reconciliation in Northern Ireland, reached out to those excluded from the benefits of the Celtic Tiger in the Republic of Ireland, supported Irish arts and protected such gems of Irish heritage as a Dublin Georgian home and Samuel Beckett’s letters. The Glucksmans also established the Glucksman Chair of Irish and Scottish studies at Aberdeen University and founded the Lewis Glucksman Gallery at University College Cork. Through their remarkable generosity, Lew and Loretta have inspired many of the new wealthy in Ireland to support nonprofit organizations.

The development of philanthropy in Ireland is a fitting and profound tribute to Lew who was a role model to so many in the country he loved. The legacy that Mr. Glucksman left throughout the entire island of Ireland is colossal and profound and, for that, The American Ireland Fund celebrates his life and achievements.