Irish Arts Center Spirit of Ireland Gala

IRISH ARTS CENTER’S 2016 SPIRIT OF IRELAND GALA TO HONOR GRAMMY NOMINEE HOZIER, JEAN BUTLER OF RIVERDANCE, AND XEROX CEO AND CHAIRMAN URSULA BURNS, OCTOBER 14 AT CIPRIANI 42ND STREET

Featuring Performances by Paul Muldoon and Martin Hayes & Dennis Cahill

Liam Neeson, Gabriel Byrne and Loretta Brennan Glucksman Are Honorary Co-Chairs

Irish Arts Center (IAC) will present its annual gala, Spirit of Ireland, October 14 at Cipriani 42nd Street. The event brings together a range of artists and luminaries that exemplifies the institution’s mission: projecting a dynamic image of Ireland and Irish America for the 21st century. It honors globally acclaimed recording artist Hozier (aka Andrew Hozier-Byrne), whose debut single, “Take Me to Church,” reached quintuple-platinum status and was nominated for the 2015 GRAMMY Award for Song of the Year; dancer and choreographer Jean Butler, original star of Riverdance; and Ursula Burns, the groundbreaking Chairman and CEO of Xerox Corporation. Performances will include Muldoon’s Picnic, the series of words-and-music jamborees organized and hosted by Prize-winning Irish poet, New Yorker Poetry Editor and pop music lyricist Paul Muldoon; as well as and fiddler Martin Hayes and guitarist Dennis Cahill, one of the world’s great musical duos.

Honorary Co-Chairs are actors Liam Neeson and Gabriel Byrne and philanthropist Loretta Brennan Glucksman. Shaun Kelly, Global Chief Operating Officer of KPMG is Chair of the event, joined by Co-Chairs Gerrard Boyle, CEO, Commodore Construction; John Duffy, Vice Chairman, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods; Declan Kelly, Founder and CEO, Teneo; and Robert McCann, Chairman, UBS Americas. All arefriends and ardent supporters of Irish Arts Center, which is currently in the final stretch of a $60 million capital campaign for a new permanent home, at 726 11th Avenue, adjoining the Center’s existing building at 553 West 51st Street. The Center expects to complete the campaign this year—Ireland’s Centenary—and to begin construction in 2017.

The Spirit of Ireland gala will begin at 7pm with cocktails, followed at 8pm by dinner, awards and performances. Tickets begin at $1,000 and can be purchased from Adam Lamberg at Irish Arts Center: 212.757.3318 ext. 222 or adam@irishartscenter.org. For a $25 contribution to Irish Arts Center, one can enter a drawing here for two VIP tickets that include a backstage meet-and-greet with Hozier, Gabriel Byrne and Jean Butler. The drawing will take place on Friday, October 7. Proceeds from Spirit of Ireland will help to fund Irish Arts Center’s year-round programming, which spans music, theater, dance, literary events and more. Cipriani 42nd Street is located at 110 East 42nd Street, between Park and Lexington.

The performances at Spirit of Ireland offer samplings of shows by the artists at Irish Arts Center this season. The series Muldoon’s Picnic, in which house band Rogue Oliphant backs an array world-class special guests from across the spectrum of music and literature, features Len Graham, Alice McDermott, Michael Robbins, Sean Wilentz and Warren Zanes on October 10; and Nicholson Baker, The Lost Brothers, Mick Moloney, Eileen Myles and David Remnick onNovember 14. Rosanne Cash, Peter Fallon, Janna Levin, Warren Malone and Loudon Wainwright III appeared in the first Muldoon’s Picnic this season, on September 12. Martin Hayes and Dennis Cahill return to Irish Arts Center for a two-week residency with a wide range of special guests, October 20-29.