28th February, 2012

AIF and Integrated Education Fund Event

The American Ireland Fund has supported the Integrated Education Fund (IEF) since its inception in the eighties. It was with pleasure that Fund supporters attended an event in Fitzpatrick’s Grand Central Hotel to welcome IEF Chairman, Baroness May Blood and special guest Liam Neeson, a longstanding champion of the IEF.

Essentially, the Integrated Education Fund campaigns to give children of all religions across Northern Ireland the opportunity to be able to learn together, play together and to build friendships together.

AIF and IEF supporters and friends of the Fund warmly received Chairman Blood as she spoke about the work of the IEF and shared many positive stories emerging from Northern Ireland including the MTV European Music Awards hosted in Belfast watched by 600 million people, three major champions of golf dominating and collecting worldwide titles and the Irish Open Golf Tournament which will be hosted in Royal Portrush in June.

Baroness Blood reminisced on the words of Michael Bloomberg, Mayor of New York, when he said, “These young people symbolize the new Northern Ireland – a Northern Ireland where all the community is working side by side for the benefit of all. Integrated schools appear to be providing not only an excellent educational choice, but also a way for the next generation to begin working together to build a shared future."