Three recipients will receive the Tip O’Neill Irish Diaspora Award on Friday, September 14 in Inishowen, Co Donegal.
Members of the Homes of Donegal Committee, Paul McGinley and Martin O’Malley will receive the special, which is entering its sixth year.
The Tip O’Neill Irish Diaspora Award is an initiative of the Donegal Diaspora Project in Donegal County Council and was initiated in 2012 on the centenary of the birth of Thomas P. Tip O’Neill.
The three inductees will join a prestigious list of Tip O’Neill Irish Diaspora Award recipients which includes US broadcaster Chris Matthews, former President of Massachusetts State Senate, Therese Murray, Irish journalist Niall O’Dowd and Donegal’s own, former Republic of Ireland goalkeeper, Packie Bonner to name a few.
With the gala ceremony for the award just days away, it’s an opportune time to find out a little bit more about this year’s award winners.
Homes of Donegal Fundraising Committee
When two Boston based Donegal men witnessed the devastation that severe floods caused in their native Inishowen in August 2017 they immediately had an overwhelming need to do something to help those affected.
Declan Houton from Malin and Oran Mc Gonagle from Moville along with a dedicated committee raised an amazing $120,000 for those affected back home.
Speaking from Boston, Houton said: “We posted about a meeting the following week, open to anyone who wanted to help and I believe we had 16 people at the first meeting – people from home, but also friends from Derry, Dublin and here in Boston.
“From the first meeting to the actual event, I have to say I have never been involved with a better bunch of people who worked really hard to raise as much money as possible, with no one ever seeking thanks.
“The first order was to come up with an event T-shirt with sponsors names on the back, this venture raised over $40,000 in one week. From then on, people donated paintings, sports tickets and so on and the event itself brought in close to $80,000 bringing the total raised to just short of $120,000 and on the day of the event we had over 30 volunteers.”
Oran McGonagle added: “The whole committee is extremely proud to receive the award and it very much belongs to each and every one of them and indeed the Irish community in Boston as a whole.
“Living in Boston especially and receiving this award is extra special as this is where Tip O’Neill’s family had emigrated to like ourselves.
“He was a massive political icon both here and in Ireland so we are delighted and looking forward to getting back to Inishowen to receive the award and enjoying the weekend.”
Martin O’Malley – Former Governor of Maryland
Former Governor of Maryland, Martin O’Malley was thrilled to be named as a recipient of this year’s award.
Having grown up in a Washington suburb close to the centre of political life and in a home where politics was always on the agenda, O’Malley describes being chosen as a recipient of this year’s award as a ‘great honour’.
O’Malley who traces his Irish ancestry back to his great-grandparents when they emigrated from Galway to the US in the late 1870’s, commends the work being done by Donegal County Council through its Diaspora project.
He believes that the world needs to be more connected and that this can only benefit everyone creating greater security and prosperity for our children and for future generations.
Elected to Baltimore City Council at the age of 28 in 1991, Martin O’Malley was elected Mayor of Baltimore in 1999 and then re-elected to a second term with 88% of the vote. In that role, he won Harvard University’s Innovation in American Government Award for creating, “Citistat” — a new system of performance managed government that has been widely adopted by other cities in the Information Age.
Elected Governor of Maryland in 2007, he not only led Maryland through the Recession with a faster rate of job growth than neighbouring states but for the first time ever, Maryland was recognised for five consecutive years as having the best public schools in the country, and one of the best states at holding down the cost of higher education.
In 2013, O’Malley led the successful fight to ban the sale of combat assault weapons in Maryland, while also driving violent crime in Maryland down to 35-year lows and the incarceration rate to 20-year lows.
Paul McGinley
Professional golfer Paul McGinley needs no introduction to the people of Donegal, a place which he describes as “his favourite place in the world”.
His father is from Donegal where Paul spent all his childhood summers playing golf and playing on the beaches. His family still own a house in Donegal and Paul visits often and spent nine days in Donegal this summer.
As well as winning the World Cup for Ireland with Padraig Harrington in 1997 he has represented Europe on 21 occasions as a player or coach winning an astonishing 20 times, most memorably in 2014 – when he led Europe to a comprehensive victory over America at Gleneagles in Scotland.
This led to many awards including being voted Coach of the Year at the BBC Sports Personality of the Year in 2014 and being made an Executive Fellow at London Business School, the first sportsman ever awarded this honour.
He currently still plays a limited golfing schedule and spends most of his time representing his many business partners as well as talking and writing on leadership at London Business School.
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