On Sunday, March 6th, Toronto's Irish community came out in full force to pay tribute to this year's Irish Person of the Year (IPOY), Michael P. Hurley.
For the first time, the event was co-hosted by the IPOY Committee & The Ireland Canada Chamber of Commerce. Based on the success this year, this arrangement will continue for the foreseeable future and is certainly a welcome event to the Chamber calendar as we continue to foster community involvement.
The sell out audience was not disappointed. The food, the camaraderie and of course the "craic' were all part of this wonderful luncheon that was once again held at Toronto's prestigious Hilton Hotel. The celebration was a fitting kick off to March's Irish activities and the lunch was preceeded earlier in the day when James O'Donnell unfurled the Irish tricolour over City Hall.
Michael P. Hurley's message was certainly worth the price of admission. Here was a guy, very successful in life and business, who was effusive in his praise for his community and what it had done for him. The value of volunteerism was certainly central to the theme of his message.
Congratulations Michael - this award was well deserved.
Toronto Irish News article (pdf)