Dr. John Lahey, President of Quinnipiac University, was presented with New England Irish person of the Year at an event at the Irish Consulate in Boston last week.

He was jointly honored by the Irish Emigrant, Irish Voice Newspaper and IrishCentral.com.

Dr.Lahey was recognized for his extraordinary achievement in creating the Ireland’s Great Hunger museum based on the Irish Famine in Hamden, Connecticut.

The museum opened for the public on October 11. It is the only museum commemorating the Great Hunger in America.

In his remarks in Boston, Lahey spoke about how the story of the Famine was so critical to understanding the story of the Irish in America.

He appealed to the Irish in New England to come to the museum, bring their children and help future generations of Irish Americans understand the historical legacy of the Famine and its impact on their own lives.

He also paid tribute to the late Jewish philanthropist Murray Lender, a Quinnipiac board member, who generously underwrote the museum.

Read more about Dr John Lahey and the Great Hunger Museum here