US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton presented with Lifetime
Achievement Award by The Worldwide Ireland Funds
500 guests attend special event in the Titanic Building,
Belfast
BELFAST, Northern Ireland,
Dec. 7, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/
-- The Worldwide Ireland Funds presented a Lifetime
Achievement Award to US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to salute her commitment to
peace and reconciliation in Northern
Ireland over her two decades as First Lady, US Senator and
Secretary of State.
The specially commissioned Belleek China piece was presented at
a luncheon hosted by The Worldwide Ireland Funds in front of 500
guests from all sides of the community in Northern Ireland as well as business, civic,
community and cultural leaders. Special guests who attended
the event included The First Minister and Deputy First minister of
Northern Ireland, along with
members of the diplomatic, sporting and entertainment worlds.
This was the Secretary of State's 7th visit to Northern Ireland and was part of her last
foreign mission in that role.
Commenting, Kieran McLoughlin,
President & CEO of The Worldwide Ireland Funds said, ''It is an
honour for us to recognise Hillary
Clinton's lifelong concern and engagement with Northern
Ireland. Throughout that time she has connected not only with
political leaders but also with community activists knitting the
community together at grass roots level. She represents the
passionate support of the Irish diaspora for the Peace
Process. The Ireland Funds have supported hundreds of groups
across Northern Ireland for over
35 years and continue to do so today through our Promising Ireland
Campaign. Today's lunch is a celebration of the progress in
Northern Ireland and the woman who
has done so much to bring it about.''
The award presented to Secretary of State Clinton was a unique
piece of Belleek China from Fermanagh in Northern Ireland. The one-off piece
symbolically showed a basket of flowers from Northern Ireland as well as flowers from the
Secretary's home state of Illinois
and other symbols of Northern
Ireland.
Past honorees and award winners from The Worldwide Ireland Funds
have included:
- Seamus Heaney
- Muhammad Ali
- Bono
- Irish Taoiseach, Enda Kenny, TD
- US Ambassador to Ireland, Dan Rooney
- Sen. George Mitchell
About The Worldwide Ireland Funds:
The Worldwide Ireland Funds is an international philanthropic
network operating in 12 countries that has raised over $430 million for worthy causes in Ireland and around the world. The mission of
The Worldwide Ireland Funds is to be the largest network of friends
of Ireland dedicated to supporting
programs of peace and reconciliation, arts and culture, education
and community development throughout the island of Ireland. Founded in 1976, The Worldwide
Ireland Funds have assisted over 1,200 organisations.
In response to the severe downturn in the Irish Economy, The
Worldwide Ireland Funds launched the Promising Ireland Campaign in
2009 to raise $100 million by the end
of 2013 to support charities that are experiencing an increased
demand for their services at a time of a major reduction in
resources. The initial campaign goal of $100 million was reached 19 months early
and the goal was revised to $140
million, requiring the Fund to raise $1 million a month until December 2013. The campaign's title, Promising
Ireland, reflects the Funds' pledge to these groups as well as
their belief in Ireland's future.
Over 350 outstanding projects and organizations have received
support from the Promising Ireland Campaign.
SOURCE The Worldwide Ireland Funds