The Gaelic Players Association is to host a fundraising Gala Banquet in New York this November, coinciding with the visit of the 2011 and 2012 All Stars to the city.
The evening will also see the inaugural presentation of an annual Ireland-US Gaelic Heritage Award with Donald Keough, former President of Coca Cola the first recipient.  Keough was in Dublin last weekend as a leading supporter of the Notre Dame College football team.
The Gala Night is being sponsored by Teneo Holdings and will form a key part of the GPA’s on-going fundraising and networking operations in the US.  It is hoped that the higher profile of the event will assist in forging relationships between GAA players and US sporting and business leaders.
The announcement comes on the same day as the Government announced the first recipients of its own Presidential Distinguished Service Award for Irish people living abroad who have made a major contribution to Ireland’s reputation and to the communities in which they settled.
GAA and Australian Football legend Jim Stynes who passed away earlier this year is to be one of the first to be honoured by this award.
It is notable that the US version has been enabled by a partnership with business while the Irish one is managed and supported only through government and public service channels.
View all the latest news on the commercial side of Irish sport
Find out more about how Sport for Business can be of benefit to you
Subscribe today for the free Sport for Business daily news digest