AIF Young Leaders Honor Brennan And O'Hara

The annual American Ireland Fund Young Leaders St. Patrick's Day Celebration was held last Thursday night at Cipriani Wall Street in New York City.

More than 700 young professionals attended New York's premier St. Patrick's event, which has helped to raise over $1 million since 2006 in support of Irish and Irish-American philanthropic causes.

At the celebration, the Young Leaders presented the 2009 Young Leaders Irish Spirit Award to Margaret Brennan, Reporter for CNBC, and the 2009 Young Leaders Irish Athletics Award to Shaun O'Hara, of the New York Giants, in recognition of their Irish heritage, career achievements and philanthropic endeavors.

"The New York Young Leaders are a wonderful group of dedicated professionals who, in this time of economic crisis worked tirelessly to make this year's event a greater success than ever," said Kieran McLoughlin, President of The American Ireland Fund.

"Their enthusiasm and commitment is inspiring and we are proud of everything that they have accomplished on behalf of The American Ireland Fund."

Event Co-Chairs Kara Duffy, Thomas Kennedy, Jr., and Rob MacGoey commented, "There were a number of obstacles we faced this year due to the current economic climate but thanks to the efforts of our St. Patrick's Celebration Committee, we continued to build on the success of prior years in organizing what has become New York City's premier St. Patrick's Celebration. We are especially proud of this year's success as it helped the Young Leaders exceed our goal of raising $1 million in four years."