Liam Neeson has been honoured by an American-Irish organisation at an event
which raised a record $3.5m in New York this week.
The ceremony in the Lincoln Centre was attended by fundraisers, who included
elite business people from both America and Ireland.
The America Ireland Fund (AIF) was set up over three decades ago by Sir
Anthony O'Reilly, chief executive of Independent News and Media, and Dan
Rooney, and still promotes peace initiatives, mainly through sport in
Northern Ireland.
And $650,000 of the fund was raised solely through contributors in Ireland
alone.
Both Neeson and Loretta Brennan Glucksman, whose late husband Lewis
Glucksman worked for the fund, were honoured at the ceremony.
Others at the event included former Irish rugby internationals Trevor
Ringland -- who works for the affiliated Peace Players organisation in
Northern Ireland -- and his former teammate Hugo McNeill.
Trevor accepted a €640,000 donation from the AIF on behalf of Peace Players,
which introduced the neutral game of basketball to address sectarian
challenges and foster tolerance by enabling both Catholic and Protestant
children to play the game together.
The mixed games are helping to foster new friendships amongst the
once-fractured communities.
Commenting on the honour he received, Liam Neeson said: "Enormous strides
have been made in my native Northern Ireland in the past decade,
demonstrated by political, social and economic changes that came about
through courage, generosity and persistence.
"The American Ireland Fund has been instrumental in investing in the social
changes and has tirelessly supported peace, education, arts and
reconciliation projects on the island of Ireland. I am proud to have been
able to play a part in the organisation's efforts."
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