- The awards gathering attracted a full house.
Ireland's ambassador to the United States, Michael Collins, presented the 2012 Ambassador's Awards at a recent sold out lunch event in Philadelphia hosted by the city's Irish American Business Chamber and Network.
The Ambassador's Award this year went to Shire PLC, and was accepted on behalf of the company by CEO, Angus Russell.
The Taoiseach Award was presented to Daniel J. Hilferty, CEO of Independence Blue Cross, while Timothy Chambers, filmmaker, founder of Tango Traffic, and former director of the Pennsylvania Film Office, received the Uachtaran Award, given annually to people who initiate cultural or economic alliances with Ireland.
The awards event, hosted annually by the IABCN, was held on Thursday, March 1 at the Hyatt at the Bellvue on Broad Street in Downtown, Philadelphia and attracted an attendance of over 300 people from the greater Philadelphia business community.
After congratulating Irish American Business Network founder, Bill McLaughlin, and his staff, Ambassador Collins briefed the awards event guests, many of whom work for, or do business with, companies with Irish ties, on the state of the Irish economy.
In the last few years, Collins said, Ireland "was in the news in ways we never wanted." With peace in Northern Ireland, a new set of "troubles" had beset the island.
After the economic boom, Ireland went bust, or very nearly, as unemployment rose to double digits, banking scandals made headlines daily, Ireland became the first country in the eurozone to declare it was in recession, while its debt had been downgraded to junk status.
But, said Collins, Ireland had since become "the poster boy" in terms of the effects of measures taken to try to bring the economy in line. "It has taken determination and resilience. And the Irish are nothing if not resilient. It's embedded in the Irish DNA," the ambassador said.
Some positive news to come out of Ireland lately, he saud, was that exports were now larger than 100 percent of the gross domestic product. The country's largest export customer was the U.S., which received a fifth of everything Ireland exports.
Pharmaceuticals, computer software, financial services, and agribusiness continued to be strong. By way of example, Collins said, Eli Lilly and PayPal were moving operations to Ireland, and the ambassador added that the country was about to get a new "investor that is very impressive indeed," though he didn't reveal the name.
Ireland was also on its way to becoming "more competitive," he said, and tax rates for corporations remained tantalizingly low at 12.5 percent.
"I attended an economic summit with President Clinton (last month in New York) and he said it was 'nuts not to invest in Ireland' his words," Collins said.
At the lunch gathering, the Ambassador's Award, presented annually to recognize a company that has furthered the goals of the Irish American Business Chamber by developing business between Ireland and the United States, was give to Shire Plc, a specialty biopharmaceutical company with 5,000 employees in 28 countries.
CEO Angus Russell accepted the award on behalf of the company, where he started in 1999 as chief financial officer.
Daniel J. Hilferty, CEO of Independence Blue Cross, received the Taoiseach Award, which honors people of Irish descent who show compassion and leadership.
Hilferty spearheaded the Healthy Hoops Program which uses basketball to teach health care consumers how to manage their health. He was also behind the donation of 2,500 toys to the Toys for Tots campaign by Independence when the Marine-backed program appeared to be faltering.
Timothy Chambers, filmmaker, founder of Tango Traffic, and former director of the Pennsylvania Film Office, received the Uachtaran Award, given annually to people who initiate cultural or economic alliances with Ireland.
Chambers was the writer/director of "The Mighty Macs," an inspirational film about the Immaculata College women's basketball team that won the first national championship in women's basketball.
In his acceptance remarks, Shire's Angus Russell said that When he first began his career with Shire in 1999, Ireland was one
of only a handful of countries where Shire had a presence.
"Today, Shire is proud to call Ireland not only a strategic part of our international business, but home to our corporate offices, which are in Dublin.
"Ireland works so well for Shire because of value, the value we provide to the country through employing folks and investing in the business structures there, and the value we receive from being a dynamic, thriving Irish-based company," he said.
