Harry McKillop Irish Spirit Award 2005 Recognizes
Rev Bill Shaw of The 174 Trust, Belfast, Northern Ireland

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The Harry McKillop Irish Spirit Award Board of Trustees honored the Rev. Bill Shaw with their second annual recognition of extraordinary individual humanitarianism. The Rev. Shaw was presented with this year’s award on February 10 th at Queen’s University Belfast, Northern Ireland.

Ross Perot established The Harry McKillop Irish Spirit Award to honor the life and work of his friend and business associate, Harry McKillop, whose lifelong commitment to principle and “Irish Spirit” values has fueled his dedication to helping individuals and saving lives as opportunities arise. The Award, established in 2003, is given annually to a person of Irish or Irish-American descent.

Bill Shaw was born and raised in Belfast. After ten years in the construction industry, he studied theology at Queen’s University. As a Presbyterian Minister he went on to serve the people of Belfast from a church on the Protestant Shankill Road.

He was appointed Director of The 174 Trust, a Christian Community Development Project, North Belfast. Bill Shaw and his colleagues are committed to advancing peace and reconciliation in Northern Ireland through projects which encourage dialogue and cultural diversity.

“Mr. McKillop is a living model of an ordinary man's individual tireless service to mankind,” said Mr. Perot. “The award seeks to recognize and encourage this spirit in others, and we have found a second ideal recipient in the Rev. Bill Shaw. I am proud to be associated with this award and to play a small part in supporting the work of Bill Shaw and his colleagues at the 174 Trust.”

Speaking at the Award Dinner at Queen’s University Harry McKillop said “The Irish Spirit Award is a long term initiative to support and recognize individual efforts in community based projects which seek to promote inter community relationships and peace in Ireland through education. I am grateful to my friend and colleague Ross Perot for his patronage of this award and honored that he saw to establish it in my name and in my proud land of ancestry.”

Also attending the dinner were, Dr. Maurice Manning, Chairperson of the Irish Commission on Human Rights, who delivered the annual Irish Spirit Award Address at the Great Hall of Queen’s University and Mr. John Hume MP, who spoke about the role of education as the key to community development. The American Ireland Fund was represented by Mr. Kingsley Aikins, President and CEO and Mike Corboy, board member and The Ireland Funds Vice President, Mrs. Caitriona Fottrell.

Mr. McKillop, was presented with The Virtual Freedom of Ballycastle at a Civic Ceremony in the seaside town to mark his return to his ancestral home earlier in the day. He said that next year’s award would be presented in Dallas, Texas and he expressed the hope that many of this year’s guests would come to Dallas to help celebrate what the poet W. B. Yeats referred to as “the vast and extravagant” Irish Spirit.

The 174 Trust >