The Ireland-U.S. Council, the transatlantic business organization with offices in New York and Dublin, hosted its annual MidSummer Gala Concert & Dinner Friday, June 25 in Dublin Castle. The Guest of Honour was Mary Hanafin, Minister for Tourism, Culture & Sport. New York-based Council President Dennis Swanson, who is President of Fox Television in the United States, welcomed Council members and guests to the evening which featured a concert performance by the Irish Baroque Orchestra.

During the dinner, the Council also presented its Award for Outstanding Portraiture to a Northern Ireland artist, Colin Davidson. The Award is presented in conjunction with the Irish Arts Review and the Royal Hibernian Academy with financial sponsorship by Pramerica, the Donegal-based unit of Prudential Financial in the United States.

Pictured at the Gala Concert & Dinner were (l-r) Henry McGarvey of Prudential Financial's subsidiary in Ireland, Pramerica; Dennis Swanson; Mary Hanafin, Minister for Tourism, Culture & Sport; Colin Davidson; Sonya Perkins; Brian Goggin.

The Ireland-U.S. Council hosted its Annual Scholarships Awards Luncheon June 10 at The River Club in New York at which students in colleges from Ireland, North and South, were presented with their awards.

At the event were (from left) Ambassador Consul General Niall Burgess; Niamh Callaghan from Dublin and is enrolled at Trinity College Dublin who will work at Mutual of America; John McKenna from Newry, Co. Down, a Chemical Engineering student at Queen's University Belfast who will work this summer at Merck & Company in New Jersey; Greg McSweeney who hails from Bishopstown, County Cork and who is studying Chemical Science at University College Cork and will work at Pfizer in New York; Paul Constant a University of Limerick undergraduate who will work at News Corporation in New York; and Seán Flynn from Ennis, County Clare who is studying at the National University of Ireland Galway. He has started his assignment at Allied Irish Banks in New York; presiding at the event was Council President Dennis Swanson, who is President of Fox Television Stations Group.

The Council's Spring Corporate Lunch in Dublin was addressed by Declan Collier, Chief Executive of the Dublin Airport Authority which this year will open a new terminal that will transform the transatlantic airbridge between Dublin and the United States.

Also speaking at the lunch was Ms. Lee Cullum, a noted American journalist and commentator. The gathering also heard news from New York-based Terry Grace Sears, of Project Common Bond, an inititiave of Tuesday’s Children that will be launched later this year in Belfast .

The traditional eve of St. Patrick's Day lunch meeting of the Council honored the Grand Marshal of the 249th Parade in New York City, Police Commissioner Ray Kelly.

Seen at the event were Council President Dennis Swanson, Commissioner Kelly and Ireland's Ambassador-Consul General in New York, Niall Burgess.

The Council’s Award for Outstanding Achievement in 2009 was presented to William C. Weldon, Chairman and CEO of Johnson & Johnson at the organization’s 47th Annual Dinner held at the Metropolitan Club in New York City in November.

The award honors the notable work he and the company have done in building the business relationships between America and Ireland.

At the presentation were (from left) Council President Dennis D. Swanson, President, Fox Television Stations Group, William C. Weldon and Barry O’Leary, Chief Executive of IDA Ireland who introduced the honoree at the sold-out event.