On Wednesday, October 28th, the Washington, DC Young Leaders gathered at the Embassy of Ireland for their annual “Samhain” Irish Halloween celebration.
The event came on the heels of two successful Young Leaders events that had already taken place this fall: The Halfway to St. Patrick’s Day Celebration and the Young Leaders Global 5K. The event was complimentary as a benefit to American Ireland Fund Young Leader Members.
There was a masquerade spirit to the evening and those who arrived without costume or disguise were offered a selection of masks to join in the fun. Guests enjoyed cocktails and hors d’oeuvres and traditional Halloween candy while listening to the sounds of Donegal-born Danny Burns and his Band.
Michael Lonergan, Deputy Chief of Mission, greeted and welcomed the Young Leaders and hosted the evening on behalf of the Embassy of Ireland. He thanked them for their support of Ireland and Irish charities through their involvement with The American Ireland Fund. Irish Ambassador to The United States, Anne Anderson attended the last two Young Leader Samhain celebrations but could not attend the Samhain celebration this year as she was in California meeting with visiting Irish President Michael D. Higgins. .
National Director of the Young Leaders, Pat Tully introduced Pat Breen, Chairman of the Department of Foreign Affairs for Ireland, who said a few words. He began by thanking The American Ireland Fund for supporting Irish charities across the island of Ireland. Pat then thanked the DC Steering Committee for their hard work and dedication to continuing the building and maintaining of the DC Young Leaders chapter again over the last year and for their extraordinary work with the Global 5K, led by Young Leader Drew Walsh.
DC Young Leaders Steering Committee Chair Megan Molloy spoke about the success of the “Halfway to St. Patrick’s Day” event and reminded everyone that everyone was together to celebrate the success of all Young Leader events and encourage members to attend the Young Leaders Summit that would be held January, 2017 in New York.
Later in the evening, gift certificates for James Hobans Restaurant were given out for the best masks and went to Young Leaders Kelly Dragelin and Ryan Moore. Kelly described how she did her research to find authentic Celtic style masks perfectly suited to the Samhain holiday celebration.
An after-party followed at James Hobans for Young Leader members and their guests.
Special thanks to the staff of the Irish Embassy, Demi Meeker and Susan O’Neill and Associates, The Danny Burns Band.
