February 17, 2011
By Staff Reporter
Project Children’s annual benefit brought in a sellout crowd of politicians, participants and performers to raise money for the 30-year-old organization that brings young people from Northern Ireland to spend six weeks in the summer with American families.
The evening honored the founders of Project Children, Denis and Miriam Mulcahy. The theme was “Landscapes from the Heart.” Whether it was a sentimental journey by columnist Pete Hamill into his upbringing in New York by his Belfast-born mother, or a raucous tune by Rep. Joe Crowley, the New York Democrat, the audience enjoyed a bit of fun and laughter.
Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton recounted how hard it had been to get interns installed in the White House while she was first lady through the Washington Ireland Program (an offshoot of Project Children that brings young adults to Washington).
“The NSC [National Security Council] said, ‘But, they’re not American’ and I said, ‘But they’re Irish,’ ” the junior senator from New York said.
The evening’s celebration was on the eve of former President Clinton’s surgery to remove fluid and scar tissue from his previous heart operation, and participants and organizers noted how impressive it was that Sen. Clinton made the effort to attend at such a difficult time.