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:
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