August 29, 2014
Boston Irish Honors 2014The Boston Irish Reporter, the region’s leading chronicler of all things Irish-American, will host “Boston Irish Honors 2014,” its annual anniversary luncheon, on Fri., Oct. 24, at 11:45 a.m. in the main ballroom of Boston’s Seaport Hotel. The 35-member luncheon committee is chaired by Peter Meade, former director of the Boston Redevelopment Authority.
The 2014 honorees are: The Burke Family – Jacquelyn, John, Paul, Dennis and Michael; Katherine Craven; and Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh.
“We are especially pleased that this year’s honorees have agreed to share their stories with us,” said BIR publisher Ed Forry. “In keeping with our heritage, the newspaper will recognize special achievements in business and public service, and salute an estimable family that shares our common roots in Boston and Ireland.
“The Burkes are an exemplary family, and their story is a wonderful example of our Boston Irish culture. Growing up in South Boston, their dad operated a drug store on D Street, and the siblings followed their own paths while sustaining their strong family ties: Jacquelyn and John Burke became pharmacists like their dad, and John now heads the Staples Foundation; Paul is a Boston firefighter, and he’s now a District Chief; Dr. Dennis Burke is a leading orthopedic surgeon at Mass General Hospital; and Michael is a union worker in South Boston.
“In a similar vein, Katherine Craven has a legion of admirers for her roles in several public agencies. A former staffer in the House Ways and Means committee and the mother of four, she was chief of the state’s School Building Authority, and oversaw the UMass Building Authority’s $3.8 billion five-year capital plan. This spring, she was named chief administrative officer at Babson College.
“And I am delighted to acknowledge the leadership role of my longtime friend Marty Walsh, as he nears completion of his first year as Boston’s chief executive. Mayor Walsh has served on our honors luncheon committee each and every year, and he truly embodies the spirit of the very best of what it means to be Boston Irish.
“It will be an honor and privilege to tell their stories at our Oct. 24 luncheon,” Forry said.
The Boston Irish Reporter is one of the region’s few remaining family-owned and-operated publications. The annual event draws appreciative audiences of some 350 Boston business and civic leaders and members of our city’s Irish social and cultural organizations.
The 2014 Luncheon Committee includes: Peter Meade, Event Chair, Ed Forry , Publisher, and Breandán O Caollaí, Consul General of Ireland. Members are: James T. Brett, Aidan Browne, William M. Bulger, James Carmody, John T. Carroll, Della O’Flaherty Costello, Steve Costello, Jay Curley, Sean Curran, Brendan Feeney, Dick Flavin, John Philip Foley, Bill Forry, Hon. Linda Dorcena Forry, Maureen Forry-Sorrell, Anne Geraghty, David Greaney, Jim Keefe, Edris Kelley, William F. Kennedy, Rev. Thomas B. Kennedy, Paul LaCamera, Mimi LaCamera, Joe Leary, Rosanne Bacon Meade, Sean Moynihan, James J. O’Brien, Michael O’Neill, Gil Sullivan, Michael Vaughn, Bobby White, and W. Paul White.
