An enthusiastic audience of 400 business and civic leaders and members of our city’s Irish social and cultural organizations gathered on Oct. 24 in the main ballroom of Boston’s Seaport Hotel for the Boston Irish Reporter’s fifth annual Boston Irish Honors luncheon.

This year’s honorees are Boston Mayor Martin J Walsh of Dorchester, Babson College vice president Katherine Craven of Brookline, and the Burke family – Jacquelyn, John, Paul, Dennis and Michael – all born and raised in South Boston.

“The Burkes are an exemplary family, and their story is a wonderful example of our Boston Irish culture,” said BIR Publisher Ed Forry. 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 is now senior vice president and chief culture officer of Staples, Inc.; Paul is a district chief of the Boston Fire Department; Dr. Dennis Burke is a leading orthopedic surgeon at Massachusetts General Hospital; and Michael is a union sheet metal 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 startup of 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,” said the publisher. “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 was an honor and privilege to tell their stories,” Forry added.

The honorees were welcomed to the stage after brief introductions by three presenters: attorney Bill Kennedy introduced the Burke family; former Massachusetts House Speaker Tom Finneran introduced Katherine Craven;’ and the BIR’s managing editor, Bill Forry, introduced Mayor Walsh.

The event was chaired by former BRA executive director Peter Meade; master of ceremonies was Boston Red Sox field announcer Dick Flavin; Rev. Tom Kennedy led the audience in an ceremony, including a prayer for former Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino. Among the special guests were Ireland Consul General Breandan O Caollai, State Senate President Therese Murray, former UMass President William Bulger, Mrs. Mary Walsh, Lorrie Higgins, and Quincy Mayor Tom Koch.

The lead Platinum level sponsor of the luncheon was Tourism Ireland; Gold sponsors were Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts and Staples; Emerald sponsors included: Bank of Canton, the family of Mayor John B Hynes, Feeney Brothers, The Fallon Company, Geraghty Properties Inc., Mass Convention Center Authority, Gil Sullivan, SBLI, Steward Health Care, Sullivan & Worcester LLP and University of Massachusetts/Boston.

The 2014 Luncheon Committee include: 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 Vaughan, Bobby White, and W. Paul White.