Irish humanitarian aid agency GOAL hosted its annual Ball with over 350 supporters in attendance. The event was attended by footballer Sarah Rowe, actress, Elva Trill, Kevin McManamon and chef and author, Trisha Lewis as well as Peter Quinn, CFO, An Post; Neill Hughes, Partner, FL Partners; Rick Earley, CEO, Cirtex; Alison Cowzer, entrepreneur and Co-founder, East Coast Bakehouse; and Jerry Grant, Chairman, Dublin Port.  

The highlight of the evening was the presentation of the 2023 GOAL Humanitarian Leadership Award to Dr Colin Hunt, CEO, AIB Group. This award honours leaders whose careers and visions have made a lasting impact on the lives of vulnerable communities impacted by poverty and crisis. GOAL was especially proud to honour Dr Hunt for AIB’s swift and generous support for GOAL’s emergency response to the Ukraine conflict in February 2022 and the Türkiye-Syria earthquake this year. The bank also enabled customers and staff to donate to the GOAL emergency response in a timely and efficient manner.

Siobhan Walsh, CEO, GOAL, said: “The GOAL Ball is a popular annual tradition and a permanent fixture on the calendars of many of our corporate partners. We’re honoured to host so many of our supporters and to be given an opportunity to highlight the important work that their generosity allows us to carry out across Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America, helping some of the world’s most vulnerable and fragile communities move from crisis to resilience.”

Key speakers at the Ball included, Barry O’Connell, Chairman, GOAL; Ger Gilroy, Managing Director, ‘Off the Ball’ and Enda McNulty, former All-Ireland Gaelic winner and motivational speaker. The live auction was conducted by Goff’s auctioneer, Andrew Nolan, and featured fantastic lots including tickets to the 2024 Ireland v England international rugby match in the Aviva, followed by an eight-course tasting menu for two at Michelin starred Restaurant Patrick Guilbaud. Other notable prizes included tickets to the Ryder Cup Golf in Italy, including return flights, and a day at the races with Irish jockey and Grand National Winner, Rachael Blackmore.

The silent auction featured artwork, sports memorabilia, stays at Ashford Castle in Mayo and Ballynahinch Castle in Connemara, and an exclusive ‘walk-on’ part in RTE’s iconic drama, Fair City. All auction lots and raffle prizes were generously donated by a variety of corporate and media partners and sports stars. All funds raised at the Ball will be channelled into GOAL’s humanitarian aid programmes across East Africa.

Click into the gallery below to see all the guests who attended.

Photographer: Brian McEvoy.

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