Page 19 / Irish Echo / MAY 28 - JUNE 3, 2014 / www.irishecho.com Page 20 NEW YORK - NEW BELFAST CONFERENCE Loretta is our choice in any year By Ray O’Hanlon As Loretta told the Irish Times in an interview a few [email protected] years ago, she was already in her 40s when she met the two great loves of her life. oretta is the seventh in the fifth. That is to say that Loretta The first was Wall Street magnate Lewis Glucksman, Brennan Glucksman is the seventh person to hold the title who was then head of Lehman Brothers investment LofIrishEchoIrishAmericanoftheYear,andshewillbeduly bank. honored at the fifth New York/New Belfast conference this And it was Lewis who introduced her to the second week. great love: Ireland. But Loretta is oh-so-much more than the numbers, Loretta Brennan was the Irish American. Lewis more than even the tens of millions of dollars raised for Glucksman’s family roots were in Hungary. But he had www.irishecho.com / Irish EchoIrish / MAY 28 - JUNE 3, 2014 causes / during her tenure as chair of the American served on a U.S. Navy submarine during World War II Ireland Fund. and had spent his shore leave in Ireland. She is a woman for all seasons, an Irish American of “He knew Ireland like the back of his hand,” Brennan the Year in any year, a friend of Ireland and the Irish of Glucksman told the Times in that interview. America in innumerable ways. “He loved the writers, visited all their homes. He Brennan Glucksman is the second woman to win the called these journeys his pilgrimages.” Person of the Year accolade since it was revived in 2007. Opined the Times: “Twenty-six years after she first set She will succeed Brian O’Dwyer, the 2013 Irish American foot on Irish soil, Loretta Brennan Glucksman is a grande of the Year. dame of Irish-American relations, philanthropist A third generation Irish American with family ties to extraordinaire and friend to a generation of Irish Donegal, Leitrim and Carlow, Loretta grew up in politicians, writers, musicians and artists.” Allentown, Pennsylvania. One of those friends was the late Seamus Heaney. She has long been a noted philanthropist and, At what would be his last major public appearance in together with her late husband, Lewis, has supported an the United States, the occasion of the NYU Glucksman array of good causes and projects in Ireland. Ireland House annual dinner in early 2013, Heaney Until she recently stepped down from the presented Loretta with the greatest tribute he could chairmanship of the AIF, Loretta had spearheaded the Loretta Brennan Glucksman. bestow, his words, a poetic tribute to that grande dame organization’s work going back to 1995. of Irish American relations. During her extraordinary tenure, she led the fund’s Loretta is co-chair of Glucksman Ireland House, the It was an original work of course, though it could successful “Hope & History” campaign to its target goal center for Irish Studies at New York University, which fairly be said that Heaney might have taken the words of $100 million. she and her late husband established in 1993. from the hearts of everyone in the room. American investment is key to stable future By Máirtín Ó Muilleoir economy in Europe include AllState of rub shoulders with some of Irish [email protected] Chicago with 1400 employees, America's most dynamic ambassadors, Concentrix of Mountain View, California, including John Fitzpatrick and Loretta 'm long familiar with the famous which just made the largest ever invest- Brennan Glucksman, current and last Irish American tome by Thomas ment announcement in Belfast with chair of the American Ireland Fund. ICahill, “How Ireland Saved 1,000 jobs promised. During a busy tenure as mayor this Civilization.” Intel has a hub of global excellence in past year, I also made official visits to But as I come to the end of a one-year Belfast — built on the foundation of a Washington, D.C., New Brunswick (at adventure as mayor of Belfast, I am local company it bought over — while the invitation of restaurateur Francis more convinced than ever that we need Cybersource, the financial transaction Schott), San Francisco, Chicago (to a scribe to write a new volume on “How company set up by New Yorker Bill address the 1200-strong Irish Fellowship Irish America Saved Ireland.” McKiernan, and Liberty Mutual of luncheon), Portland, Oregon, New York For in every key area of civic resur- Boston, are substantial tech employers. and San José. gence in Belfast, the U.S. is playing a Not to be outdone, CitiGroup just I was particularly privileged to meet two key part. announced plans to grow its Belfast great governors, Jerry Brown of Whether it is tourist visitor numbers, workforce from 1400 to 1700 highly- California (a proud Irish American, our which are off the charts thanks to rock- skilled staff. No surprise then that Invest meeting ended with a song from the eting numbers from North America, or NI just announced its best year ever in time of the Great Hunger) and Andrew new job creation projects which are terms of job creation. Cuomo of New York. being spearheaded by American compa- The lesson for me is that while Irish In every meeting I attended, my mes- nies, the fact remains that the U.S. is America has been a bulwark of the sage was that Belfast is a city on the Belfast's greatest ally. peace process, there is a real desire to rise. When the IRA and loyalist ceasefires do more to ensure the peace thrives on But undoubtedly the icing on the cake were called 20 years ago, many thought a foundation of prosperity and justice. for the people of Belfast was to twin with the involvement of Irish America and the That's why I initiated a series of new Boston. U.S. had reached its high water mark. links with the U.S. over the past twelve The capital of Irish America, the hub However, the fact is that the tide of sup- months. These included: of university education in the U.S., the port from Irish America for the peace A business mission from New Jersey, Silicon Valley of life-sciences and a city process has continued to surge in the headed by New Brunswick Mayor Jim tied to Ireland though centuries of histo- years since. Cahill; the first-ever business mission ry and heritage, Boston will be a great Indeed, long after Senator George endorsed by the American Ireland Fund partner for the resurgent Belfast. Mitchell sealed the Good Friday deal, Lord Mayor Ó Muilleoir. which saw thirty prominent business The message from Belfast is that U.S. envoy Dr. Richard Haass was back and political leaders visit Belfast. there is a real thirst for more relation- in Belfast before Christmas to propose a A start-up Tech Mission from Belfast ships of mutual benefit with Irish bold way to break the political stalemate in America. to Silicon Valley which saw twenty of our America. over the past. New York Stock Exchange and brightest young entrepreneurs join me Far from having seen the best days of But the wave of investment from the Chicago Mercantile Exchange are just on the west coast. transatlantic partnership, it's my convic- U.S. since the peace process was born is two major U.S. companies who have This week, I will bring ten of our Belfast's tion that the greatest days of Irish an even more phenomenal story. made Belfast their European beachhead. most successful business leaders with American co-operation with those who Belfast has more American blue-chip Their neighbors in the city which now me to the Big Apple to take part in a wish to build the peace in the North of companies than any city of similar size boasts the fastest-growing knowledge business mission which will see them Ireland are still ahead of us. Page 21 / Irish Echo / MAY 28 - JUNE 3, 2014 / www.irishecho.com Page Page 22 NEW YORK - NEW BELFAST CONFERENCE Irish Network a link in growing chain ver the past several years, from the highest reaches of the Irish Ogovernment right through to those that we might refer to as the “rank and file” of the Diaspora, great effort has been placed on finding bright spots in an otherwise gloomy view of Ireland’s economic standing and future growth potential. Many of us know the www.irishecho.com / www.irishecho.com Irish Echo / 28 - MAY JUNE 3, 2014 / stats and the one- liners, and recite them as comfortably as we do the ABCs. Ireland “punches STEVE above its weight” and LENOX “Ireland is open for business” are common letters @irishecho.com phrases. What P o w e r P o i n t presentation is complete without reminding us that Ireland is home to Tara O’Grady. Bruce Willis. Alex Fegan. nine of the world’s top ten medical technology companies, ten top “born on the internet” companies, and so Prior to the launch of Irish Network O’Grady - a singer whose unique sound is perhaps the best example of how the forth and so on? USA, these efforts existed within and stage mastery inspired an art of networking can be used to tear One thing we know for sure is that individual “IN” chapters, but now impromptu duet with none other than down walls that have kept us from Ireland continues on the road to flourish at a national level, with A-list actor Bruce Willis - Dublin reaching the heights we aspire to.