Photo captions 1 - Guest, Finnuala Kelleher, Guest, Guest, Christina Kelleher, Guest 2 - Smith Bagley & Dennis Lucey 3 - Dennis Lucey, Norman Houston, Orla O’Hanrahan, Paul Quinn, Gerry Cassidy, Jack Bagley, Amb. Elizabeth Bagley, Kieran McLoughlin 4 - Guest, Tim Curry 5 - Gareth Morre & Maggie Hlobik 6 - Dean Thomas, Guest 7 - Linda Murray, Claude Malone & Aoife McGarry 8 - Amb. Elizabeth Bagley, Kieran McLoughlin, Orla O’Hanrahan 9 - Norman Houston & Tim Curry 10 - Amb. Elizabeth Bagley, Susan O’Neill 11 - The 40 Thieves 12 - Paul Quinn, Gerry Cassidy, Jay Killeen 13 - Guests 14 - Guests 15 - Guest, Adrienne Bauer, Guest 16 - Paul Quinn, Kieran McLoughlin, Cong. John Larson 17 - Susan O’Neill, Leo Jardot, Cong. John Larson 18 - Gareth Moore, Chris Lucy, Jamie Mahoney 19 - Mike Bagley, Guest 20 - Tim Bagley, Guest, Mike Bagley 21 - Paul Quinn, Cong. John Larson 22 - Dean Thomas, Reilly O’Connor, Guest 23 - Guests 24 - Cong. John Larson & his staffers 25 - Reilly O’Connor, Cong. John Larson 26 - Guest, Dean Thomas, Reilly O’Connor, Cong. John Larson 27 - Kieran McLoughlin 28 - Aerial of the event 29 - Michael & Marianne Brant 30 - Finnuala Kelleher & Reilly O’Connor 31 - Kieran McLoughlin & Reilly O’Connor 32 - Kieran McLoughlin, Orla O’Hanrahan, Guest, Norman Houston 33 - Guests 34 - Mike Bagley, Guest, Jack Bagley 35 - Nick Siegel, Guest, Claude Malone 36 - Norman Houston, Nick Siegel, Guest, Claude Malone 37 - Guests 38 - Makeda Saggau-Sackey, Drew Walsh 39 - Kieran McLoughlin, Cong. Donald Payne 40 - Kieran McLoughlin, Cong. Donald Payne, Mike & Marianne Brant, Guest

Over 150 guests including committee members, dinner gala chairs, and friends of AIF came out to show their support for Ireland and the Young Leaders’.  Since the group’s debut event in September 2008 the Young Leader’s have continued to expand and receive a great response from the community.

The lobby of the Homer Building, which was so kindly donated by the Northern Ireland Bureau, made for a spectacular venue for the night’s festivities.  The live greenery in the space well complimented the theme “Green Leaves of Summer.”

Guests enjoyed cocktails, food, and live music by 40 Thieves.  The Irish band from the Washington, DC area performed a mix of Irish classics and other popular rock and roll hits.

The crowd was welcomed by Norman Houston, Director of the Northern Ireland Bureau and Orla O’Hanrahan, Deputy Head of Mission of the Embassy of Ireland. Kieran McLoughlin, President of the American Ireland Fund thanked Young Leaders and guests for their strong support and commitment to the Fund.

Cong. John Larson and Cong. Donald Payne both stopped to chat with guests and enjoy a drink, as did many other congressional staff members. Billy Tranghese of Cong. Richie Neal’s office was also present and spoke to attendees about The Belfast-Beltway Boxing Project on whose board he serves and a portion of the proceeds benefitted.  The Belfast-Beltway Boxing Project is a non-profit group dedicated to providing cultural exchange and international amateur athletic competition through support of at-risk youth in DC and Belfast.

Many thanks to our corporate underwriter Leo Jardot of Wyeth for making the evening such a success!

If you would like to become involved, please contact Susan O'Neill
E - susan@oneillevent.com