Irish America Celebrates Achievement, Heritage, and the Immigrant Journey
The extraordinary achievements of Irish and Irish-American leaders in finance were celebrated at Irish America magazine’s annual Wall Street 50 awards, an evening filled with inspiring stories, familiar faces, Irish music, and a powerful sense of connection to the generations who came before.
Hosted by Irish America co-founder and editor Patricia Harty, the gathering at the New York Yacht Club on October 1, brought together some of the most accomplished figures in international finance, alongside diplomats, business leaders, and friends of the Irish-American community.
Looking around the room at the models of sailing ships, Harty reflected on the journeys of earlier Irish immigrants, whose Atlantic crossings could take anywhere from four weeks to three months. Their descendants, she suggested, would have made them proud.
And what better way to honor those ancestors than with a song?
Acclaimed Irish tenor Ciarán Sheehan, whose performances have taken him from Carnegie Hall to the White House, opened the evening with a stirring rendition of “You Raise Me Up.”
“I think the ancestors are well pleased,” Harty remarked as the applause subsided.
The evening’s keynote speaker, Tony Reilly, exemplified the determination and enterprise that have characterized generations of Irish immigrants.
Reilly arrived in America from Dublin on a soccer scholarship to a college in Kansas he had never heard of. From those unlikely beginnings, he went on to found Ascend Advisory Group, based in Dublin, Ohio, which now manages approximately $4 billion in assets.
Yet his accomplishments extend beyond the financial world. His involvement in community initiatives on both sides of the Atlantic, including the Reilly Foundation’s scholarships for women, reflects a commitment to creating opportunities for others.
Ireland’s Consul General in New York, Gerald Angley, congratulated the honorees, noting the global reach of the companies they represented. He also highlighted the Irish government’s plans to create 9,000 additional jobs in financial services by 2030, a significant expression of confidence in the country’s economic future.
Congresswoman Laura Gillen was among the distinguished guests in attendance.
Although the Wall Street 50 recognizes professional excellence, it is often the personal histories behind those achievements that make the occasion memorable.
Chris Toomey of Morgan Stanley comes from a family with deep roots in Brooklyn. His grandfather, an Irish immigrant, established Toomey’s Diner near Ebbets Field, where Brooklyn Dodgers players and their fans once gathered.
Another honoree, Will O’Hara of financial advisory firm Stout, has an equally colorful family history. His ancestor Garrett Murray founded a bottling company in the nineteenth century, became a naturalized American citizen in 1859, and eventually purchased a building at 2 Henry Street, now home to the Henry Street Ale House.
There is a certain Irish humor in the fact that his descendant now works for a company called Stout.
Perhaps one of the most touching stories belongs to Eileen Murray, whose mother, Bridget, emigrated from Ireland as a teenager.
Bridget initially sought employment with the telephone company but was rejected because of her Irish accent. Undeterred, she applied again years later, after her children were older, and secured a position working the late shift. Her husband, an Irish-American soldier, would meet her at the subway station after work.
Bridget’s determination and quiet courage are commemorated through the Irish America digital library, which bears her name. A photograph of her in her Schrafft’s uniform offers a poignant reminder of the sacrifices made by an earlier generation.
The evening also brought together many longstanding members of the Irish America family, including power couples Helen and Derek Doody, and Alan and Susie Fagan. Sean O’Brien of Bank of America, Jac Dunne of Dimply, Antoinette Behan of Crédit Agricole CACEIS, Colette Garcia of Bloomberg, Maria Hehir of Blackstone, Gráinne McCarthy of The Wall Street Journal, Michael Meehan of Morgan Stanley, former keynote speakers Kevin McLaughlin (Merrill Lynch) and Jane McCooey (Morgan Stanley), and numerous past and present honorees – see all their profiles below.
Among the guests were Andrea Haughian, Executive Vice President and Head of Americas at Invest Northern Ireland and recipient of the 2025 Spirit of Ireland Award, and Ambassador Susan M. Elliott, President and CEO of the National Committee on American Foreign Policy, an organization closely associated with efforts supporting peace in Northern Ireland.
The celebration was made possible through the generous support of the Department of Foreign Affairs, Invest Northern Ireland, CIE Tours, 1-800-Flowers, Wells Fargo, CrossCountry Consulting, and other friends of the magazine.
Music again provided one of the evening’s most emotional moments when Sheehan returned to perform “Grace,” the haunting ballad about Grace Gifford, who married Joseph Plunkett shortly before his execution following the 1916 Easter Rising.
The performance was dedicated to Irish America writer Rosemary Rogers, whose Wild Woman column in the current issue recounts Grace’s remarkable story, and to Sophie Grace Reilly, Tony’s daughter, whose name is associated with the Reilly Foundation’s women’s scholarships.
The evening also offered an opportunity to recognize Irish America publisher and co-founder Niall O’Dowd, who attended with his wife, Debbie McGoldrick, who wrote the Green Card column in the weekly Irish Voice for many years.
When O’Dowd and Harty founded the magazine in 1985, their vision was to give the Irish-American community a stronger voice in business, politics, culture, and the important issues affecting Ireland and its diaspora.
More than four decades later, the Wall Street 50 remains a testament to that vision.
The ships that brought earlier generations across the Atlantic have long since disappeared, but their legacy lives on in the achievements, generosity, and determination of those who followed.
And on this memorable evening, that legacy was celebrated in fine Irish style.
PHOTOS AND VIDEO: James Higgins
Keynote Speaker Tony Reilly (his speech will run after a short highlight introduction) gave an engaging and impactful presentation, blending business strategy with philanthropy. “I learned very early on… that if you want more, you better really think about what you’re going to do with the more. You don’t want the more just to stack it up; you want the more because you want to do something extraordinary.”
It was surely an evening to remember.
All photos from the 2026 Wall Street 50 Awards Dinner are by photographer James Higgins.
