James A. McNamara To Be Honored By The United Irish Counties Association Of New York

The United Irish Counties Association of New York will honor James A. McNamara as Gael of the Year at its 105th annual gala Dinner Dance on January 30. The event will take place at Antun's, 96-43 Springfield Blvd., Queens Village, New York.

McNamara is Director of Public Relations for the 65,000-member International Longshoremen's Association, AFL-CIO, a position he has held since August 1981.

He is responsible for coordinating the public relations and communications program, including editing the union's publication ILA Newsreport and supervising its website ilaunion.org.

He serves as the chief spokesman for the ILA when dealing with the media. He is a graduate of Iona College and holds a Masters Degree in Public Communications from Fordham University.

McNamara is active in numerous organizations both professional and fraternal. These include the County Cork Association, the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick, the Irish Institute and the D.C. Friends of Ireland.

McNamara traces his Irish roots to Cork and Clare. He was honored by County Cork in 1996, by County Sligo in 1997 and he received the Maritime Good Scout Award in 2006. Jim and his wife Alice are the proud parents of a daughter, Elizabeth Mueller.