Tune in for live streaming of 2019 Tip O’Neill Award Ceremony

The prestigious Tip O’Neill Irish Diaspora Awards Ceremony will be streamed live for the first time tomorrow, Friday, September 27 at 7.30pm on the Donegal County Council website www.donegalcoco.ie and Cllr Nicholas Crossan, cathaoirleach of Donegal County Council and chairman of the Tip O’Neill Irish Diaspora Award Committee believes that this will open up the event to a wider global audience.

“We are delighted to be live streaming the Tip O’Neill Irish Diaspora Awards ceremony from the Inishowen Gateway Hotel in Buncrana allowing us to bring what is always a very special event to a wider audience,” says Cllr Crossan.

“This means that family and friends of the recipients who don’t have the opportunity of travelling to Donegal for the event will be able to see the recipients being honoured for their outstanding achievements and in particular for their support of the diaspora.

“It also means that Donegal people and those with a love of Donegal located all over the world will be able to tune in and join us for an evening that celebrates and remembers one of the county’s most illustrious sons the late Tip O’Neill.”

The four notable members of the diaspora that are set to be honoured at this year’s award ceremony are author and playwright, Frank McGuinness; Dublin based businessman, Pat Doherty; US based attorney, Patrick C. Dunican Jr, and US based businessman, Daniel J. Hilferty. On Thursday, September 26, each recipient will share their own life story during a special event with Professor Paul Moore at Ulster University, Magee.

The Tip O’Neill Irish Diaspora Awards were first hosted in 2012 to mark the 100th anniversary of the birth of Tip O’Neill whose maternal grandparents hailed from Inishowen and have become a cornerstone of the work of the Donegal Diaspora initiative as it continues to reach out across the globe to all those with a connection to Donegal.

Garry Martin, director of economic development with the council said this year the Tip O’Neill Irish Diaspora Awards would kick start an exciting 10 day celebration of all things Donegal through the new Donegal Connect initiative.

"These events will be showcasing Donegal as a great place to visit, to live in, to work in and to invest in,” he said.

For more on the Tip O’ Neill Awards weekend including the Tip O’Neill Golf Challenge on Saturday September 28 at Ballyliffin Golf Course and the packed programme for Donegal Connect check out www.donegalconnect.com .