Tag Archive for: Dublin School for Japanese Children

IJA Annual Dinner 2024: Celebrating the Irish-Japanese Community

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Ireland Japan Association’s Annual Dinner 2024, a significant event for the Irish-Japanese community, was held on May 17th at the Conrad Dublin hotel. Esteemed members of the Ireland Japan Association and distinguished guests, including key figures from government, business, academia, and the arts, gathered to celebrate the strong ties between Ireland and Japan.
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The evening began with a Sake & Prosecco reception, creating an atmosphere of elegance and camaraderie. Master of Ceremonies Raymond Hegarty warmly welcomed attendees. Guests then enjoyed a sumptuous three-course meal in the beautiful Ballroom, followed by a Prize Giving ceremony.
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IJA Council Members with special guests: H.E. Mr. Norio Maruyama, Ambassador of Japan in Ireland, H.E. Ms. Leena Gardemeister, Ambassador of Finland to Ireland, and Mr. Jack Chambers, State Minister for the Department of Transport and the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications.

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H.E. Mr. Norio Maruyama, Ambassador of Japan in Ireland and IJA Patron, honoured the event with his presence and delivered an inspiring address.
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Special guest Mr. Jack Chambers, State Minister for the Department of Transport and the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications, gave a memorable speech, sharing insights from his recent visit to Japan.

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H.E. Mr. Norio Maruyama, Ambassador of Japan in Ireland.

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Mr. Jack Chambers, State Minister for the Department of Transport and the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications.

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IJA Chairperson Catherine Grennell-Whyte highlighted the association’s mission and recent achievements. She noted the rapid growth and expansion of the association, marked by a variety of events and activities throughout the year and an increasing number of individual and corporate members.
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“We are committed to fostering education, cultural exchange, and business opportunities between Ireland and Japan,” said Catherine Grennell-Whyte. “Our goal is to build a vibrant community offering real benefits and opportunities through close collaborations, cultural appreciation, innovative business discussions, and invaluable networking.”
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Catherine Grennell-Whyte, IJA Chairperson

 
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The IJA Annual Dinner 2024 was a memorable night, celebrating the enduring bond between Ireland and Japan.
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IJA Annual Dinner 2024 Prosecco & Sake Reception at The Conrad, Dublin.

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The IJA Council expresses its gratitude to the Dublin School for Japanese Children for crafting and presenting exquisite Japanese origami decorations to our dinner guests. We extend our heartfelt appreciation to the event team at Conrad Dublin for their exceptional hospitality and service during our event. We also want to extend our thanks to Raymond Hegarty, Master of Ceremonies, and our dedicated event team for their invaluable time, support, and contributions in making this year’s event a resounding success.

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The IJA Council extends gratitude to the prize sponsors for their ongoing support and generous contributions: Dillon Eustace, Finnair, Japan Rugby and Football Union, KWE Ireland, Oomi Travel, Mitsubishi Electric, NTT Data, PwC Ireland, and SuMi TRUST.
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Photo Gallery | IJA Annual Dinner 2024

Photos: Stephen Cullen, K9 Studio

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(If you were a guest at the IJA Annual Dinner 2024 and would like to receive an access to full photo gallery from the night, please email your request to: info@ija.ie)

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IJA Annual Dinner 2023 | Photo Gallery

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On 12th May the IJA members, friends, and supporters celebrated and enjoyed one of our biggest events of the year – the IJA Annual Dinner 2023. This year’s event took place at one of the most beautiful and luxurious Dublin venues – Conrad Dublin Hotel.

 

 

The IJA Council was delighted to welcome H.E. Mr. Norio Maruyama, Ambassador of Japan in Ireland and the IJA Patron, as well as Mr. Jack Chambers, State Minister for the Department of Transport and the Department of the Environment, Climate & Communications, as special guests and speakers at the event.

 

From left: Ms. Tsugumi Yamamoto, IJA Vice Chairperson, H.E. Mr. Norio Maruyama, Ambassador of Japan in Ireland and the IJA Patron, Ms. Catherine Grennell-Whyte, IJA Chairperson, Mr. Jack Chambers, State Minister for the Department of Transport and the Department of the Environment, Climate & Communications, and Mr. Raymond Hegarty, IJA Ex-Officio and Master of Ceremonies. Photo: Stephen Cullen, K9 Studio

 

The evening began with Sake reception, kindly supported by the IJA Council in cooperation with Retro Vino Wine & Sake. Reception was followed by welcome words from Raymond Hegarty, IJA Ex-Officio and Master of Ceremonies, and after that dinner guests enjoyed a delicious 3-course meal in the beautiful Ball Room.

 

Raymond Hegarty, IJA Ex-Officio and Master of Ceremonies. Photo: Stephen Cullen, K9 Studio

 

Catherine Grennell-Whyte, IJA Chairperson, expressed her gratitude to the IJA corporate and individual members present at the event, inviting everyone to enjoy ‘the celebration of cultures and our successes, a celebration of friendships forged through the Ireland Japan Association and of our achievements together’.

 

No association can function effectively without a strong membership who are committed to the ongoing activities, and we believe the members of this association are one of the main reasons we are so successful.  We can see the evidence of this here this evening with such a large attendance.  I would like to reiterate how much we value your individual, family, student and corporate membership participation in the many events we host and support throughout the year. – Catherine Grennell-Whyte, IJA Chairperson.

 

Catherine Grennell-Whyte, IJA Chairperson. Photo: Stephen Cullen, K9 Studio

 

Catherine Grennell-Whyte thanked the IJA Patron member – ElectroRoute – for their support to the association and a very successful cooperation. Special gratitude was expressed to the IJA Patron H.E. Mr. Norio Maruyama, Ambassador of Japan in Ireland. ‘Your patronage of the association is most gratefully appreciated and so is the support of the entire team at the Embassy,’ said Catherine Grennell-Whyte.

 

Ms. Catherine Grennell-Whyte, IJA Chairperson and H.E. Mr. Norio Maruyama, Ambassador of Japan in Ireland and the IJA Patron. Photo: Stephen Cullen, K9 Studio

 

Prize Giving this year was sponsored by the IJA Corporate members – ElectroRoute, Dillon Eustace, Oomi Travel (former Unique Japan Tours), PwC Ireland, SuMi TRUST and Yamamori,  and we would like to thank everyone for their continued support and very generous prizes. The Grand Prize this year was sponsored by our Corporate member Finnair, and we would like to congratulate the lucky winner who received a return flight to Japan – Mr. Yiannis Gkoufas.

We would also like to thank everyone at the Dublin School for Japanese Children who created and gifted beautiful Japanese origami decorations to our dinner guests, and to Mrs. Tomoko Ozaki who created stunning Ikebana flower arrangements for the event. Huge thanks to the event team at Conrad Dublin for being great hosts and providing excellent service during our event.

We would like to thank Raymond Hegarty, Master of Ceremonies, and our event team and volunteers from the IJA Council – Catherine Grennell-Whyte, Tsugumi Yamamoto, Darina Slattery, Laura Goonan, Azumi Uchitani, Eva Reavley and Verity Swan – for their time, support and help to make this year’s event such a great success. Special thanks to Eddie Hughes, former IJA Council member, for his dedication and help with the event arrangements.

 

Photo Gallery | IJA Annual Dinner 2023

Photos: Stephen Cullen, K9 Studio

(If you were a guest at the IJA Annual Dinner 2023 and would like to receive an access to full photo gallery from the night, please email your request to: info@ija.ie)

 

 

IJA Annual Dinner 2022 | Photo Gallery

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On 17th June the IJA members, friends, and supporters came together to celebrate and enjoy one of our biggest events of the year – the IJA Annual Dinner 2022. This year it took place at one of the most beautiful Dublin venues – Radisson Blu St. Helen’s Hotel.

 

The evening began with Sake reception, kindly supported by our corporate member – Retro Vino Wine & Sake. Reception was followed by welcome words from Catherine Grennell-Whyte, Master of Ceremonies, and after that guests enjoyed a delicious 3-course meal in the beautiful Le Panto Suite.

 

Catherine Grennell-Whyte, Finnair/ATTS, Master of Ceremonies

 

Speeches were given by Raymond Hegarty, IJA Chairperson and Mr. Makoto Honda, Counsellor, DHM, Embassy of Japan.

 

 

Prize Giving this year was sponsored by the IJA Corporate members – Bank of Ireland, Cpl Resources, Dillon Eustace, KWE Ireland, Retro Vino, Unique Japan Tours and Yamamori. The Grand Prize this year was sponsored by Finnair, IJA 2022 Travel Partner, and we would like to congratulate the lucky winner who received 2 return flights to Japan.

 

Grand prize winner received 2 tickets to Japan from Finnair/ATTS.

 

It was great to see everyone back together after so long. We are happy for you attending the event and look forward to seeing you again in coming events. – Tsugumi Yamamoto, IJA Vice Chairperson

 

We would like to thank all our members and friends who attended the IJA Annual Dinner this year, and special thanks go to our 2022 Travel Partner – Finnair, and all our Corporate members for their continued support and very generous prizes.

We would also like to thank Dublin School for Japanese Children who made beautiful origami decorations for our dinner guests, and to Mrs. Tomoko Ozaki who created Ikebana flower arrangements for the event. Huge thanks to the event team at the Radisson Blu St. Helen’s Hotel for being great hosts and providing excellent service during our event.

We would like to thank Catherine Grennell- Whyte, Master of Ceremonies, and our event team and volunteers from the IJA Council – Raymond Hegarty, Tsugumi Yamamoto, Darina Slattery, Laura Goonan, Jonathan Kelly, Hiro Ino and Eddie Hughes – for their time, support and help to make this year’s event such a great success.

More photos from the IJA Annual Dinner 2022 are in the photo gallery below. Please click on the image to enlarge it.

 

Photos: Kevin O’Neill, Laura Goonan, Darina Slattery, Eddie Hughes, Raymond Hegarty and Jonathan Kelly 

IJA Annual Dinner 2020

30th IJA Annual Dinner | Photo Gallery

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On 14th February the IJA members, friends, and supporters came together to celebrate and enjoy one of our biggest events of the year – 30th IJA Annual Dinner 2020. This year it took place at one of the most beautiful and iconic Dublin venues – The Shelbourne Hotel.

The evening began with Sake reception, kindly supported by Embassy of Japan in Ireland and our corporate member – Retro Sake. Reception was followed by speeches from Ms Darina Slattery, IJA Chairperson, Mr Peter Sherrard, CEO of Olympic Federation of Ireland and H.E. Mr Mitsuru Kitano, Ambassador of Japan in Ireland.

Darina Slattery, IJA Chairperson

Peter Sherrard, CEO of Olympic Federation of Ireland

H.E. Mr Mitsuru Kitano, Ambassador of Japan in Ireland

IJA Annual Dinner 2020

Read here: Ambassador Kitano’s full speech at the IJA Annual Dinner 2020.

The guests enjoyed a delicious 3-course dinner in the beautiful Great Room followed by Prize Giving sponsored by the IJA Corporate members – AIB, ANA, Bank of Ireland, Dillon Eustace, KWE Ireland, Mitsubishi Electric, Retro Sake, SuMi TRUST, Unique Japan Tours and Yamamori. The Grand Prize this year was 2 return flights to Japan sponsored by Finnair, IJA 2020 Travel Partner.

 

(Please click on the images to enlarge)

Photo gallery in video format can be viewed here!

 

 

We would like to thank everyone who attended the IJA Annual Dinner this year. Special thanks go to our Patron member – AIB, our Travel Partner – Finnair, and all our Corporate members for their continued support and very generous prizes.

Our thanks go to the Dublin School for Japanese Children who made all the beautiful origami decorations for the dinner tables and to Mrs Tomoko Ozaki who created a wonderful Ikebana flower arrangement for the event. We would also like to thank The Shelbourne Hotel for hosting our event and providing excellent service before and during the dinner.

We would like to thank our Master of Ceremonies – Mr Raymond Hegarty, and our event team and volunteers – Mr Donagh Morris, Mr Graham Ryan, Ms Paula Kelly, Ms Tsugumi Yamamoto and Mr Yasuyuki Ozeki  – for their time, support and help to make this year’s event such a great success.

Photos/Video: Donagh Morris

IJA Annual Dinner 2019 brings together IJA members, friends and supporters

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Each year, IJA Annual Dinner brings together our members, friends, and supporters to celebrate and enjoy one of the biggest and most enjoyable events of the year.

The evening began with a reception at The Westbury Hotel, Dublin, followed by speeches by Ms Darina Slattery, IJA Chairperson, H.E. Mrs Mari Miyoshi, Ambassador of Japan in Ireland, Mr Mark Egan, Head of Competitions and Performance, and Ms Catherine Grennell-Whyte, Finnair.

The guests enjoyed a delicious 3-course dinner in the beautiful Grafton Suite which was followed by Prize Giving sponsored by IJA Corporate members – AIB, A&L Goodbody, ANA, Bank of Ireland, Dillon Eustace, KWE Ireland, PM Group, SuMi TRUST, Unique Japan Tours and Yamamori. The Grand Prize this year was 2 return flights to Japan sponsored by Finnair, IJA 2019 Travel Partner.

(Please click on the images to enlarge)

We would like to thank everyone who attended the Annual Dinner, our Corporate members for supporting this event and sponsoring amazing prizes. Big thanks to our Patron member – AIB – for continuous support and our Travel Partner – Finnair – for sponsoring the Grand Prize.

Our thanks go to the Dublin School for Japanese Children who made all the beautiful origami decorations for the dinner tables and to Mrs Tomoko Ozaki who created wonderful Ikebana flower arrangements for the event. We are thanking the Embassy of Japan who provided Japanese sake for the event reception, and The Westbury Hotel for hosting our event and providing excellent service before and during the event.

We would like to thank Mr Raymond Hegarty who agreed to undertake MC duties at the event, and our event team – Ms Paula Kelly, Mr Hiro Ino, Mr Donagh Morris and Mr Karl O’Reilly who helped before and after the event, and made sure that everybody can enjoy a wonderful relaxing evening.

Photos: Donagh Morris