THE New York City Council will honor the late Senator Edward Kennedy with the Thomas Manton Irish Man of the Year Award at its Irish Heritage and Cultural celebration on March 9 at City Hall.

The award will be bestowed upon Kennedy posthumously. Caroline Kennedy, the senator’s niece, will accept the award on his behalf. Thomas Manton is a former Irish American U.S. Congressman who died in 2006.

City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, whose grandfather is from Ireland, officiates the ceremony each year.

Said Quinn in an email to the Irish Voice, “We are looking forward to celebrating the life and legacy of Senator Kennedy, and he was a forceful leader both in America and around the world. In Ireland, he is remembered for his work as a peace maker.”

She continued, “In the United States his work as an advocate for civil rights and health care reform distinguished him as the lion of the Senate. We are delighted that his niece Caroline will join us and accept this award.”

On the night other honors will be presented to New York GAA Chairman Larry McCarthy; development director at Part of the Solution, Maureen Fergus Sheehan; and John O. Murphy, chairman of IN-NYC.

McCarthy, born in Cork, is the current chairman of the New York GAA and is an associate professor of management at the W. Paul Stillman School of Business at Seton Hall University where he teaches in the Center for Sport Management.

Sheehan’s grandparents come from Co. Mayo. She has devoted her career to meeting the needs of low-income New Yorkers, in particular those suffering or at a risk of hunger.

Murphy, from Ramsgrange, Co. Wexford, came to the U.S. on a scholarship to Mercyhurst College in Erie, Pennsylvania in 1993.

Murphy is active in Irish American affairs in New York, founding the Young Irish Lawyers Society and serving as a director of the Irish-American Bar Association of New York and the Brehons.

To RSVP to the event, visit http://council.nyc.gov/events and select the "Irish Heritage and Culture" event from the drop down menu. Also RSVP by calling 212-788-5613.

The event will take place on March 9 at 5:30 p.m. in the Council Chambers at City Hall.