New York City's Irish Arts Center launched its fall season last night, which will showcase talent from Olivier-nominated Irish step dancer Colin Dunne, Grammy Award winning composer Bill Whelan, Grammy nominated sean-nós singer Iarla Ó Lionaird, to name a few.

A long time supporter, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn spoke at last night’s event where she paid tribute to the outstanding work done by the Irish Arts Center.

Addressing the assembled crowd she called on people to participate in the coming season's events.

“Commit to get three to five other people involved in the Irish Arts Center,” she said.

Speaker Quinn also spoke about the development of new facilities for the Irish Arts Center, a project which has received backing from both the U.S and Irish government.

“I think clearly our community needs and deserves its own center and I think that it is perfect that the center isn’t on Park Avenue or 5th Avenue or Madison Avenue, that it is in Hell’s Kitchen. There is no better place that an Irish center should be than there on an urban renewal area, on land that others had disregarded as no good long ago, so it’s perfect that we should do what Irish people do and bring that land back,” she said.

The 2011 fall season kicks off on September 7 and brings the finest talent in theater, literature, film and visual art to New York.

The coming schedule will include a musical tribute to the Broadway legend Ned Harrigan and the return of popular events such as PoetryFest 2011, a film series, comedy nights and an educational childrens series.

For more information on the Irish Arts Center and for detailed programme information and booking tickets please visit www.irishartscenter.org.
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