Two high-profile Irish New Yorkers, Pete Hamill and Michael “Buzzy” O’Keeffe, one an acclaimed writer and journalist and the other an award-winning restaurateur, will be  honored at Glucksman Ireland House NYU’s Annual Gala, at NYU’s Kimmel Center for University Life.

Renowned writer and essayist Peter Quinn will act as Master of Ceremonies at the Gala, which promises to welcome many highly celebrated New Yorkers.

Pete Hamill was born and raised in Brooklyn, the first of seven children of Belfast immigrants.  He is a renowned journalist, novelist, essayist, editor and educator. Distinguished Writer in Residence at the Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute at New York University and a longstanding member of Glucksman Ireland House NYU’s Advisory Board, Pete has authored over twenty books such as A Drinking Life: A Memoir, Forever and Tabloid City. Pete is the inaugural Seamus Heaney Award for Arts & Letters recipient.

Born in Manhattan and raised in the Bronx to a Wexford father and a Tipperary mother, Buzzy O’Keeffe has been a celebrated restaurateur for more than 45 years. He has overseen establishments that embody the spirit of the city and hosted luminaries from the worlds of sports, politics, entertainment, media, and more. Buzzy’s River Café and Water Club, both reopened after the devastation of Hurricane Sandy, have served as icons for classic American cuisine, and have given rise to a long line of acclaimed chefs. Buzzy is the inaugural Lewis L. Glucksman Award for Leadership recipient.

The Seamus Heaney Award for Arts & Letters is awarded in memory of the late Nobel Laureate who was honored guest at last year’s Glucksman Ireland House Gala and who was a great champion of its dynamic program of activities. The Lewis L. Glucksman Award for Leadership is awarded in memory of the co-founder of Glucksman Ireland House NYU, whose career in finance, philanthropy and vision is relived constantly through the teaching, learning and research fostered at Glucksman Ireland House NYU.