News From Our Honorees

Irish businessman and 2012 Irish America Business 100 Keynote Speaker Denis O’Brien has created a fellowship that will, on an annual basis, offer two Irish students a fully-funded master’s degree in business administration at Boston College’s Carroll School of Management, where O’Brien himself earned his M.B.A. in 1982. The Denis O’Brien Fellowship is available to Irish citizens with exceptional academic or career achievements.

Thomas Moran, chairman of Mutual America and head of Concern Worldwide, U.S., has been named Chancellor of Queen’s University Belfast. Moran, a native New Yorker with roots in Cavan and Fermanagh, received an Honorary Doctorate of Science in Economics from Queen’s in 2006 for his achievements in business and public service. As chancellor, Moran will be both an ambassador and advisor for Queen’s, and will also attend degree-conferring ceremonies. Moran was inducted into the Irish America Hall of Fame in 2012.

And finally, the Kelly Cares Foundation’s 5th Annual Irish Eyes Gala took place at the JW Marriott Essex House, on Monday, March 16, 2015 in New York. Established in 2008 by Notre Dame head football coach Brian Kelly and his wife Paqui, the Kelly Cares Foundation has donated over $2 million to support causes locally, nationally and globally. They honored 2014 Irish America Hall of Fame inductees Stephen, Patti Ann, and Conor McDonald. ♦