Friday 27 June

The Ireland Fund of Great Britain Midsummer Ball

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The illustrious Dorchester Hotel in London was once again the venue for The Ireland Fund of Great Britain’s Midsummer Ball on Friday 27th June. After a champagne reception guests were seated in the fantastically decorated ballroom for the presentation of The Bird and Bell award to Mr Niall Quinn.

The guests were immediately welcomed by Peter Sutherland, Chairman of The Ireland Fund of Great Britain. His opening speech focussed on the works of The Ireland Funds focussing on specific projects such as the Southwark Irish Pensioners Project based in south London that offers culturally specific care to the elderly Irish in the areas. Peter introduced Mr Stephen Quinn, Chairman of the Midsummer Ball Committee who spoke to highlight Niall’s football career and charitable works.

The Ireland Fund of Great Britain’s ‘Bird & Bell’ Award is presented each year to an individual who has made an outstanding contribution to the Irish community through their achievements in their chosen field.

This year, we chose to honour Niall Quinn with this award. For his testimonial match, Niall set himself ambitious target – to raise a cool million pounds – and then he simply gave it all away to charity. Some of the money was used to finance an educational programme for children in Calcutta run by the Irish charity GOAL. The bulk of the cash was divided between children’s units in The Sunderland Royal Hospital in Britain and Our Lady’s Hospital in Dublin.

Auctioneer Henry Kelly entertained and cajoled the crowd to part with their money at the end of the fabulous five course meal. The unique prizes included a private dining evening for 12 people at The Dorchester in the new Krug Dining Room with a menu specially designed by Executive Chef Henri Brosi. Niall once again proved his generosity by donating an item for the auction in the form of a day out for a father and son to watch any premiership match that Niall would be working at in his new capacity as a Sky Sports commentator.

With the auction completed, the dancing began with gusto and continued until after the band has stopped playing, as despite pleas to the contrary, the band did have to stop at some stage!

With the party ending with a tremendous high feeling amongst guests, it is wonderful to see this event continue to flourish as a key event in the social calendar amongst both old and new supporters.