Irish American Partnership gives $10,000 to school in grandfather’s hometown

It was a homecoming of sorts for the US Ambassador Claire Cronin, who spent a celebratory morning on May 14 in Moville, Co. Donegal alongside Principal Liam McDermott of Scoil Eoghain National School. She was delighted to meet with 240 pupils and the teaching staff, as part of a presentation by the Boston-based charity the Irish American Partnership. Cronin’s grandfather, Hugh McLaughlin, was born on the Inishowen peninsula in 1886 and emigrated to the United States in 1912.

Partnership President and CEO Mary Sugrue said of the occasion, “Our mission is to connect our members directly to their heritage through grassroots, targeted giving, and we are proud to partner with our friend Ambassador Cronin in giving back to her homeland of Moville, and to help with resources for Scoil Eoghain.”  Cronin toured the school, enjoying Irish dance, choral, and poetry recitations by the school’s pupils.

“It is wonderful to be back on the Inishowen peninsula, the home of my grandfather,” Cronin said. “The Irish American Partnership builds upon the vital connections between the United States and Ireland through generous donations that empower Ireland’s young people. I am delighted to see the partnership’s impact across the island, and today in Donegal with this grant to Scoil Eoghain in Moville.”