February 16, 2011
By Staff Reporter
Conan O’Brien, host of NBC-TV’s "Late Night" talk show, will be an honoree at the 1998 American Celtic Ball hosted by the Ireland Chamber of Commerce in the U.S.Wednesday, Oct. 7, at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City.
O’Brien, said Patrick J. Keogh, ICCUSA president/CEO, who made the announcement, will join Jim McCann, head of "1-800-FLOWERS" as the event’s honorees. The Distinguished Guest of Honor for that evening will be Hon. George E. Pataki, governor of the State of New York. Also attending will be British Northern Ireland Secretary Mo Mowlam and the leader of the Ulster Unionist Party, David Trimble.
The black-tie banquet/dance this year celebrates the 10th anniversary of the founding of ICCUSA. A large number of officials and business executives from Ireland and the U.S. will be in attendance, Keogh noted.
O’Brien, a native of Brookline, Mass., began his writing career at Harvard University, where he served as a two-time editor of the humor magazine the Harvard Lampoon. Upon graduation, he moved to Los Angeles and began writing for television. He won an Emmy for his work on NBC-TV’s "Saturday Night Live."
Appearing at the 1998 American Celtic Ball will be violinist Karen Murray, one of Ireland’s leading musical artists. Comic Brendan Grace will be the evening’s master of ceremonies.
Serving as honorary chairman for the 1998 American Celtic Ball is Dr. Michael W.J. Smurfit, chairman/CEO of Jefferson Smurfit Group. John T. Dillon, chairman/CEO of International Paper, Inc. is the dinner chairman for 1998. The ACB Journal Committee is headed again by John T. Sharkey, vice president of MCI Communications Corp.
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ICCUSA, founded in 1988, is a non-profit, membership organization without political or regional ties, set up by American and Irish business executives and professionals to encourage mutually beneficial economic ties between the two nations.