The Eire Society of Boston will hold its 78th Gold Medal Dinner on Saturday evening, 25 April at 6pm at the Fairmont Copley Plaza in Boston. This year, the Gold Medal Honoree is Dr. Catherine B. Shannon, Professor Emerita of History at Westfield State University.

For four decades, Catherine B. Shannon Ph.D. taught courses in Irish, British and European History. She is the author of Arthur J. Balfour and Ireland, 1874 -1922 (1988), and The Churchills in Ireland: Connections and Controversies (2012 Irish Academic Press), where she explored the role of Lord Randolph Churchill in Irish affairs from 1877- 1893. She has published book chapters and articles on the role of women in the Northern Ireland conflict and peace process, and was actively involved in the 1980’s- 1990’s in the search for a peaceful solution to the conflict. Dr. Shannon was the first woman president of the 278 year old Charitable Irish Society of Boston, served as president of the Eire Society of Boston and was a member of the Executive Committee of the American Conference of Irish Studies for over a decade.  In 1999 she was among 15 Irish-Americans from Massachusetts to receive a “Dreamer of Dreams” award from the New York based Irish Voice newspaper.  Dr. Shannon was the recipient of the Solas Award from the Irish International Immigration Center and the Irish Heritage Award from the Irish American Partnership, both based in Boston.  She is currently researching the role of Boston and New England in providing food aid to Ireland in 1847 at the height of the Great Famine.

The Gold Medal Dinner was established in 1937 with the founding of the Eire Society of Boston. Each year, a person or persons who exemplifies the best in Irish culture and ideals is honored with a Gold Medal Citation, written by a prominent local writer and beautifully crafted in Irish calligraphy by a professional artist.

This year, the elegant full course dinner will be held in the St. James Room at the Fairmont Copley Plaza. Dick Flavin will serve as the master of ceremonies with an invocation by Reverend Gerald Osterman, a benediction by Reverend Brian Dixon and presentation of the national anthems by singer, Maureen Keady.

Tickets to the Gold Medal Dinner are $150 per person and can be purchased by sending a check payable to the Eire Society of Boston, Ms. Cathleen A. McGrail, 105 Beech Street, #1, Belmont, MA 02478. For more information on the Gold Medal Dinner, contact Cornelia Cassidy Koutoujian at 781.929.1387.

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