Mayor Marty Walsh of Boston is set to pay tribute to Irish American entrepreneurs from across the US at the second annual Irish Small Business-Big Impact awards on Friday, May 3.

Scheduled for Bostons' Seaport Hotel, the awards raise a glass to high-flying business founders with deep roots in Irish America as well as to companies which were set-up in Ireland but have expanded across the Atlantic.

Now in his second term of office, Mayor Walsh is a tireless advocate of transatlantic business partnerships and has championed the growth of the small business sector in Boston.

"It's a feather in the cap of these recently-established awards to have the two most prominent Irish American mayors as our guests of honour," says Connla McCann of awards hosts the Irish Echo.

"Last year in Philadelphia, when our partner was the Irish American Business Chamber and Network, Mayor Jim Kenney addressed our gathering. Given the relentless efforts of Mayor Walsh to encourage transatlantic partnerships and his spearheading of Boston's sister city relationship with Belfast, we are thrilled that he will join us."

Among the companies on this year's honor roll will be Otter.ai of San Francisco where the general manager is serial entrepreneur Séamus McAteer, a Dubliner who moved to the US 30 years ago to seek a new career. Also feted will be Sara Stanton of premier Boston travel company Cara Travel and Dan Healy of Brooklyn tech company Prolific Interactive.

Special presentations will be made at the gala dinner to the fastest-growing company as well as to a Tech Trailblazer and Innovation Ambassador.

"The quality and diversity of our companies is as impressive as their geographic range," adds McCann.

"Not only can we boast companies as far apart as California and Virginia but we also have one company, Gecko Governance, which will dispatch a representative from its headquarters in Ireland."

Sponsors of the event are led by Cosimo Ventures of Boston and the Boston Irish Business Association.

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