Joseph P Kennedy III and Dr John Lahey recognized among top New England Irish honorees

Boston awards ceremony will acknowledge the best and brightest Irish leaders

Dr. John Lahey is the president of Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Connecticut. President for the past 25 years, Lahey has distinguished himself as an innovative and dynamic leader who has spearheaded Quinnipiac’s emergence as one of the leading institutions in the Northeast. (More than half - 53% - of Quinnipiac students come from New England.)

As 1997 grand marshal of the NYC St. Patrick’s Day Parade, Lahey devoted much of his time that year to educating the public about the historic implications of Ireland’s Great Hunger. He has been at the forefront of a movement to require schools to include the Irish Famine in school curricula as a human rights violation.

In September 2012, under Lahey’s leadership, Quinnipiac opened Ireland’s Great Hunger Museum, Músaem an Ghorta Mhóir, which contains the world’s largest collection of visual art, artifacts and ephemera dedicated to this tragic period in Irish history. “The museum will preserve, build and present its art collection in order to stimulate reflection, inspire imagination and advance awareness of Ireland’s Great Hunger and its long aftermath on both sides of the Atlantic,” said Lahey.

Lahey also received the Ambassador of Ireland Award for the Holyoke St. Patrick’s Day Parade in 2010. He was named the 2011 Irish American of the Year by Irish America as a leading educator and keeper of Irish heritage. In 2000 he also was named one of the 10 outstanding grand marshals of the 20th century.

Lahey, a native of Bronx, NY, received undergraduate and master's degrees in philosophy from the University of Dayton, a Ph.D. in philosophy from the University of Miami, and a second master’s degree in higher education administration from Columbia University.

Lahey also is a leader in the community, serving as a member of the Ancient Order of Hibernians, Division 4, New York County; director and vice chairman of the St. Patrick’s Day Parade, Inc.; a member of the Knights of St. Patrick; and on the board of directors for Yale-New Haven Hospital, United Illuminating Company, Independence Holding Company and the Alliance for Cancer Gene Therapy.

Lahey resides in Cheshire, Connecticut, with his wife Judy, and has two sons, Brent and Robert.
Lahey’s paternal grandfather hails from Knockglossmore, Co. Kerry. His paternal grandmother hails from Co. Cork and his maternal grandmother from Co. Clare.

Leader of Tomorrow

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Nster.com