We invite you to join us Sunday, February 27, 2-5pm, at the Madison Hotel, Morristown, New Jersey.
The Irish American Cultural Institute’s Washington’s St. Patrick’s Day event commemorates
George Washington’s declaration of St. Patrick’s Day as a holiday while his troops were
encamped in Morristown during the American Revolution in 1780, “as an act of solidarity
with Irish in their fight for independence…”
This fundraising gala, held annually during the St. Patrick’s Day season since 1994, offers the
opportunity to honor distinguished individuals for their contributions to arts & culture, education, community, heritage, or business. The evening is a blend of history, pageantry, music, and
dance
The Washington’s St. Patrick Day Ball is one of the IACI’s most successful fundraising events and provides vital support to the programs and initiatives of the Institute.
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Individual Ticket: $150 Includes a selection of fine food, open bar (beer & wine), entertainment.and a charity auction
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Commemorative Dinner Journal
Show your support for the IACI and the 2020 Annie Moore Award recipient with an advertisement or congratulatory message in the Dinner Journal.
| Back cover: $1000 |
Inside front or back cover: $800 |
| Gold Page: $450 |
Silver Page: $300 |
| Full Page (B&W): $150 |
Half Page (B&W): $75 |
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All verbiage/ graphics are black & white. Full page size is 4.25 X 7. Ads should be submitted in jpeg or PDF format to cbuck@iaci-usa.org. Deadline for receipt of ad copy is February 10, 2022
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The Annie Moore Award is bestowed upon an individual who has made significant contributions to the Irish and/or Irish American community and legacy. The Annie Moore Award is named for the first immigrant to be processed at Ellis Island. The award is given to an individual who has demonstrated a commitment to excellence
through business, education, or the arts.
The 2022 Annie Moore
Award as “Irish Person of the Year” will be presented to Desmond Lloyd, Owner,
The Grand Café, Morristown, N.J. Desmond started in the hotel and restaurant business at the age of 14 in his native Dublin, along with his four brothers, all following their father William Lloyd, himself a chef, into the business. By age 18 Desmond was setting sail on prestigious passenger liners, including those of the Pacific, Orient, and Cunard lines, and on the RMS Queen Elizabeth, traveling all over the world while honing his skills as a waiter, wine waiter, and captain in the most prestigious of settings.
In 1963 Desmond and his wife Alice immigrated to the United States, where they made their home in New Jersey. Desmond worked for various restaurants within the Rod Keller family, first as a waiter but eventually reaching the position of general manager at Rods Steak and Grill in Morristown. Desmond remains grateful for his 18 years of working with the Keller family.
Once opened in Morristown, Desmond’s Grand Café took a mere six months to receive three stars from the New York Times. Recognition from the Times as well as excellent ratings by the Zagat Guide have been frequent throughout the years.
Desmond started in the hotel and restaurant business at the
age of 14 in his native Dublin, along with his four brothers, all following
their father William Lloyd, himself a chef, into the business. By age 18
Desmond was setting sail on prestigious passenger liners, including those of
the Pacific, Orient, and Cunard lines, and on the RMS Queen Elizabeth, traveling all over the world while honing his
skills as a waiter, wine waiter, and captain in the most prestigious of
settings.
In 1963 Desmond and his wife Alice immigrated to the United
States, where they made their home in New Jersey. Desmond worked for various
restaurants within the Rod Keller family, first as a waiter but eventually
reaching the position of general manager at Rods Steak and Grill in Morristown.
Desmond remains grateful for his 18 years of working with the Keller family.
Once opened in Morristown, Desmond’s Grand Café took a mere
six months to receive three stars from the New
York Times. Recognition from the Times
as well as excellent ratings by the Zagat
Survey have been frequent throughout the years.
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The Eoin McKiernan Award was established and named for the Founder of the Irish American Cultural Institute. Dr. Mc Kiernan devoted his life to, and set the standard for, Irish studies. His achievements in and contributions to the world of Irish studies and Irish culture were immeasurable. The award is given to honor and recognize an individual who exemplifies those ideals.
The 2022 Eoin
McKiernan Award as “Educator of the Year” will be presented to Father Michael
Tidd, O.S.B., Headmaster, Delbarton School, Morristown, N.J.
Fr.
Michael Tidd, O.S.B., is a Benedictine monk and priest of St. Mary’s Abbey and
the 12th Headmaster of Delbarton School, both located in Morris Township. Fr.
Michael has been a monk of St. Mary’s Abbey since June 2008. He professed
solemn vows in July 2011 and was ordained a priest in December 2013.
Fr.
Michael was born in July 1970 in Philadelphia to William and Genevieve Tidd,
and has an older brother (David) and younger sister (Jennifer). He was educated
in the Catholic elementary schools of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and then
attended La Salle College High School (1984-88), where he was a successful
speech and debate competitor. Fr. Michael then earned a B.A. in European history
and graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Pennsylvania in 1991. Subsequently,
he earned an M.A. in theological studies from La Salle University in 1995, an
Ed.D. in private-school administration from the School of Education at the
University of San Francisco in 2001, and an M.N.A. degree from the Mendoza
College of Business at the University of Notre Dame in 2015.
Fr.
Michael began his career in Catholic secondary schools at West Philadelphia
Catholic High School in 1991, when he was in the formation program of the
Christian Brothers from 1990 to 2003. As a Christian Brother, Fr. Michael
taught history and theology and coached speech and debate at Central Catholic
High School in Pittsburgh (1992-95); at Calvert Hall College High School in
Towson, MD (1996-2001); and at Hudson Catholic High School in Jersey City
(2001-03). After leaving the Brothers’ formation program in 2003, Fr. Michael
served as the academic dean at Salesianum School in Wilmington, Delaware, from
2003 to 2006.
Discerning
a call to Benedictine monastic life in his years after the Christian Brothers,
Fr. Michael began his monastic formation at Marmion Abbey in Aurora, IL, and
was there from 2006 to 2008. When his father died suddenly in April 2007, Fr.
Michael decided to seek a transfer to St. Mary’s Abbey so that he could be
closer to his family in southeastern Pennsylvania. He arrived at Delbarton in
June 2008 after being accepted to the community by the St. Mary’s Abbey
Chapter.
From
2008 to 2018 Fr. Michael was a member of the History Department at Delbarton
School, teaching freshmen and seniors. He was also the founding director of the
Delbarton Forensic Society, Delbarton’s speech and debate team. In this role he
coached three National Catholic Forensic League national champions in
public-forum debate (2010, 2011, and 2019) as well as the 2011 National Speech
and Debate Association’s national-championship team in public- forum debate.
During this time he also served as the Abbey’s business manager (2014-18).
In
November 2017 Fr. Michael was appointed the 12th Headmaster of Delbarton School
by Abbot Richard Cronin, O.S.B. Fr. Michael began his tenure as Headmaster on
July 1, 2018. In his time as Headmaster he has overseen the construction and
dedication of a 20,000-sq. ft. addition to the main academic building. This
building was the first new academic building at Delbarton since 2006 and was
dedicated as “St. Benedict Hall” in May 2021.
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Irish Contribution To The Revolutionary War
The Irish and the
American Revolution in New Jersey
“From a military perspective New Jersey was the cockpit of
the [American] Revolution. Washington wintered his troops there on three
occasions: in 1777 in Morristown, in 1778-79 in Bound Brook, and in 1779-80 in
Morristown again. . . . The last of these encampments was especially difficult
due to severe weather, poor food, and chronic boredom. By March 1780, alarmed
by ‘mortifying proofs of inattention and relaxation of discipline,’ Washington
feared a mutiny. To raise morale, he gave permission for a Saint Patrick’s Day celebration to be held [on 17 March of that year], urging that ‘the celebration of the
day will not be attended with the least rioting or disorder.’ That hope seems
to have been vindicated. According to a Loyalist newspaper, the festivities
began ‘with music and the hoisting of colors, exhibiting the thirteen stripes,
the favorite Harp, and an inscription declaring in capitals, The Independence
of Ireland. . . . The simple-minded Teagues [an ethnic slur—not the first or
the last] were charmed with the sight of the harp, forgot their sufferings,
dropped their complaints, and seemed perfectly happy for the moment, though not
a drop of whiskey or taffie was to be seen in the camp.’” See Dermot Quinn, The Irish in New Jersey, Four Centuries of
American Life (New Brunswick, NJ, and London: Rutgers University Press,
2004), pp. 49-50.
The Broader Context
In 1776, when the Continental Congress declared independence
from Britain, an estimated 10% of the population of the embattled country
hailed from Ireland. By 1790 nearly a half-million Irish citizens had
immigrated to what had become the United States. Many of these Irish immigrants
took an active part in the American Revolution. Recent research has
demonstrated that Washington’s Continental Army was in its composition between
40% and 50% Irish—a far higher share than previously understood.
Leading Irish Americans took prominent parts in the
military, political, and economic life of the new country:
• The first Secretary of the Continental
Congress and the designer of the Great Seal of the United States was Irishman Charles
Thomson.
• Three signers of the Declaration of
Independence were Irish: Matthew Thornton, James Smith, and George Taylor. Six other
signers were of Irish background.
• Four signers of the Constitution were Irish:
Pierce Butler, Thomas Fitzsimmons, James McHenry, and William Patterson.
• The printer of the Declaration of Independence
was the Irishman John Dunlop.
• The “father of the American Navy” was the
Irishman John Barry.
• As many as sixteen generals in the army of the
fledgling country were from Ireland.
• George Washington’s intelligence operatives
included the Irishmen Hercules Mulligan and John Honeyman.
• The architect or designer of the first White
House was the Irishman James Hoban.
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