EVENTS REPORTS

Blackrock College Union Dinner
President of the Union 2014/15: Mr. Shane Murphy

New York Dinner – October 17, 2014

Report by Stephen Condon, North American Branch of the Blackrock College Union

North American Branch Committee: Stephen Condon (NY), Timothy O’Reilly (CA), Trevor Madigan (NY), Stephen Mullin (IRE), Brian Sugrue (MA) and Aidan Hayes (NY).

New York Dinner

A Blackrock College Union Dinner took place in New York City on Friday, October 17^th, 2014 at The Manhattan Club (http://manhattanclubnyc.com) and accommodation was arranged for those travelling at the Fitzpatrick's Hotel (www.fitzpatrickhotels.com/manhattan). The event was organized successfully by Carla Capone (Carla@carlacapone.com or +1 (212) 213-1166).

Attendance:

We had a great crowd of 140 attendees with Blackrock graduates spanning a 56 year period, from 1954 to 2010. We had past students from New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Washington D.C., Massachusetts, Ohio, California, Canada, Switzerland and a sizable contingent from Ireland.

Special Guests:

• From Blackrock College:
  • College Principal, Mr. Alan MacGinty and his wife Vivienne;
  • Fr. Cormac O’Brolchain, a long time member of the College (former Principal and President) and graduate from the class of 1958;
• From the Blackrock College Union:
  • The President of the Union; Shane Murphy and his wife, Hilary.
  • Union Committee Members, Stephen Mullin and his wife MaryRose and the Committee Vice President, David Coen.
• We hosted Oliver O’Connor and his wife, Barbara Jones, the Irish Consul General of Ireland, New York.
• Our guest speaker for the evening was the highly acclaimed actor, comedian and fellow past student from the class of 1983, Ardal O’Hanlon.

Event Photographs:

Photographer for the evening, Jim Higgins, posted all the photos to - www.higginsphotonyc.com

Password to access the photographs is (all in lowercase) “blackrock”. The photos can be viewed (but not downloaded) under the following link;

www.higginsphotonyc.com/Other/Blackrock-College-NY/45083192_ZSmj66

Also – event photos available to download from “Drop Box” -

www.dropbox.com/m/browse/Blackrock%20New%20York%20Dinner%202014

Run of Show:

Complete Run of Show is included as Appendix One to this memo.

By all accounts, it was a highly successful and wonderful evening. The venue, food, and camaraderie were fantastic. The wonderful speeches from Shane Murphy and Alan MacGinty touched upon Union and College’s success throughout the year but also very importantly the immediate challenges that lie ahead. Both speeches struck a chord in the hearts of all Alumni present. It was also formally announced that a US Non profit legal entity had been set up called “Friends of Blackrock College North America, Inc.”. (Through this entity the event was successfully administered by automating ticket sales and and attendee management).

Following the celebration, a large contingent continued the festivities at “Fitz’s Bar” in Fitzpatrick’s Hotel on Lexington Avenue.