=”http://irishinphilly.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/front-photo.jpg” alt=”” width=”380″ height=”356″ /> Maureen Brett Saxon, vice president of the Delaware Valley Irish Hall of Fame, presents the award to Siobhan Lyons, executive director of the Irish Immigration Center and the Brehon Law Society.
It’s hard to recall what drew the most laughs—longtime Irish Edition newspaper photographer Tom Keenan asking how many people in the crowd of more than 400 at the Delaware Valley Irish Hall of Fame dinner Sunday night he he’d never photographed (then whipping out his camera to capture the three people who raised their hands) or Montgomery County Court Judge Kelly Wall revealing that her mother, president of the organization, “thought gourmet cooking was putting a can of fruit cocktail into a can of baked beans.”
There were plenty of laughs—and a few tears during emotional speeches—at the 12th annual awards ceremony at the Irish Center in Philadelphia during which Keenan, Burns, and Irish Immigration Center Executive Director Siobhan Lyons were inducted into the Hall of Fame. Burns is retiring this year after 7 years as president of the organization, which honors those who have made significant contributions to the Delaware Valley Irish community. Also honored this year with a special award was the Irish American Business Chamber and Network, founded 13 years ago by entrepreneur Bill McLaughlin to build a business bridge between the US and Ireland.
We were there and took photos. See the celebration here.
