British & Irish Universities Ball 2005

The First Annual British and Irish Universities Ball

On September 23, 2005, the first annual British and Irish Universities Ball was held in Cambridge, MA. This evening brought together over 200 British and Irish professionals, US alumni of British and Irish Universities, their families, and friends residing in the New England area for an evening of networking & celebration of their heritage.

The idea for this gala emerged from a conversation after a few whiskeys at the University of Edinburgh Burns' Supper in Boston. Realizing the number of Scottish, English, Welsh, and Irish university alumni in the area, the leaders of the Edinburgh alumni group brought several of them together to propose this event, to connect fellow ex-pats and alumni with friends old and new from back across the pond.

The Ball was held at the Marlowe Hotel in Cambridge on September 23, 2005. The evening began at 6:00PM with a cocktail hour accompanied by the celtic harpist, Kathryn Mannyng. Then after being "piped in" to dinner by the fabulous Phil Ferguson, the British Consul-General & Irish Consul-General welcomed guests to dinner. Following dinner & toasts, there was further musical entertainment from the band "Four Guys in Tuxes", as well as a DJ and the dancing continued until midnight. Throughout the evening there were numerous special door prizes awarded, including gift certificates for restaurants, the tickets for the theater and music.

The evening was thoroughly enjoyed by all.

Looking forward to seeing you at next years event

Sincerely

Elizabeth Guckenheimer

British and Irish Universities Ball Planning Committee

Some of the Universities that were represented include:

• • Aston University

  • Cambridge University

  • Cardiff University

  • De Montfort University

  • Dublin City University

  • Dublin Institute of Technology

  • Durham University

  • Edinburgh University

  • Exeter University

  • Glasgow University

  • Heriot-Watt University

  • Irish American College, Galway

  • Kingston University

  • London Business School

  • London School of Economics

  • Oxford University

  • St Andrews University

  • Trinity College, Dublin

  • University College Cork

  • University College Dublin

  • University College Galway

  • University of Dundee

  • University of Limerick

  • University of London

  • University of Wales, Swansea

  • Warwick University

The Sponsors of the Ball were:

• • Edinburgh University

  • Durham University

  • British Beer Company

  • Enterprise Ireland

  • University College Dublin

  • University of Limerick

  • Kirkpatrick & Lockhart Nicholson Graham LLP

all of whom generously provided financial support.

Supported by:

• The Eire Society

  • Huntington Theatre Company for two British-themed productions

For sponsorship information or for more information about the 2006 Ball please contact Elizabeth Guckenheimer at eguckenh @ caregroup.harvard.edu

Here are a few pictures of the fun at the 2005 Ball