The Irish Echo "40 Under 40 Awards"

The Irish Echo’s “40 Under 40 Awards” took place Wednesday, February 27, 2008. A cocktail reception was held at The Manhattan Club upstairs of Rosie O’Grady’s in Manhattan, New York City. Editor Ray O’Hanlon Emceed the event. It was a grand affair with many from around the country in attendance.

Two people from Pittsburgh were honored – Sheila Shovlin and Johnny Connolly. Sheila is a director and instructor with The Shovlin Academy of Dance and teaches Irish dance both in Pittsburgh and Johnstown, PA. Sheila is also a member and player with the Pittsburgh Banshees Ladies Football Club. Sheila has been an award winning dancer for many years and has been a successful teacher in the school established by herself along with her sister Liz Shovlin Grinko and brothers Peter Jr. and Johnny Shovlin.

Sheila Shovlin, TCRG (above)

Sheila Shovlin and Diane Byrnes (below)

Johnny Connolly is an 8th grade teacher of US history along with being a wrestling coach. Johnny also has been involved in GAA football over 15 years. He founded the Pittsburgh Celtics Junior Team over four years ago, teaching boys and girls from 12 to 16, the skills of Gaelic football. Johnny is also a fluent Gaelic speaker and has taught Irish too many.

Johnny Connolly was unable to make the New York trip, but Sheila Shovlin did make it.

I had the pleasure of meeting a few people that I had interviewed over the years, Séan Finlay former CEO of the Irish Echo and Liam Maskey, Executive Director of Intercomm Ireland, LTD. from Belfast. Liam will interview with me again in April.

My news correspondent from Belfast, Mairtin O’Muilleoir, is now the CEO and Publisher of The Irish Echo. From all accounts he is doing a fabulous job continuing the traditions established at The Echo along with adding a few new additions.

I had the pleasure of meeting many including Theresa Flanagan Murtagh from Philadelphia along with her husband Paul Murtagh, Matthew Sullivan, Director of The Great American Irish Festival, Robert Dunne, Esq., with O’Dwyer & Bernstien, LLP Attorneys At Law in New York. I also had the distinct pleasure of meeting and chatting for a while to Clare O’Gara Grimes, former owner of The Irish Echo. She was just as charming and delightful as I thought she might be; such a lovely lady! And I had the pleasure of chatting a bit with Paddy McCarthy with IrishConnections Magazine and Peter Sexton with Enterprise Ireland.

After the reception I joined Maírtin O’Muilléoir and a few of his friends for dinner, including Cáitrín Una McKiernan from California, Kate McCabe, National President, Irish American Unity Conference and Michael Patrick MacDonald, Author of two books, “All Souls: A Family Story From Southie” and “Easter Rising”. Each of these folks was amazingly interesting and each has achieved remarkable accomplishments. Cáitrín has lived in Beijing for the past few years and produced the international premier of “Passages of Martin Luther King” with the National Theatre of China.

The “40 Under 40 Awards” was an excellent recognition of young achievers who will become future leaders both in the Irish American community and throughout America.

A great big Thank You to all of The Irish Echo Staff who worked so diligently to put this event together; one who was especially helpful to me was Madeline O’Boyle, Subscription Manager at The Echo. You did a phenomenal job and the evening was so pleasurable!