Tag Archive for: SuMi Trust

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 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

Mitsubishi Electric team wins IJA Golf Outing Cup 2019

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Annual IJA Golf Outing took place on 27th June at the the beautiful Castle Golf Club in Rathfarnham, Dublin.

We would like to thank all the teams who participated in the tournament and send special congratulations to the winners – Mitsubishi Electric team who won the IJA Golf Cup 2019 this year:

Ciaran Moody 
Fergus Daly 
Liam Hoctor 
Brendan Clarke 

Photo: Mitsubishi Electric

Many thanks to all the teams who participated in the tournament this year: Dillon Eustace, AIB, Bank of Ireland and SuMi Trust.

We would like to thank everybody who helped to organize this event: IJA Council members Shane Geraghty, Eoghan Howe and Darina Slattery.

Big thanks goes to IJA Council member Neil Maher and Mitsubishi Electric for providing goody bags to all participants, and many thanks to all the teams who sponsored prizes for prize-giving.

We are thankful to our hosts at the Castle golf club for all the help and support before and during our event, and last but not least – our thanks goes to all the participants who joined us on this day and made it such a great success.

We are looking forward to our Golf Outing 2020 next year!

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

 

Bank of Ireland team wins IJA Golf Outing Cup 2018

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Annual IJA Golf Outing took place on 11th October at the stunning Hermitage Golf Course on the banks of the river Liffey.

We would like to thank all the teams who participated in the tournament and send special congratulations to the winners – Bank of Ireland Team!

The list of winners:

1st place & winners of the IJA Golf Cup 2018 – Bank of Ireland Team

  • Dan O’Donnell
  • Liam Marnane
  • Gavin Rylands
  • Ciaran Cash

2nd place – Allied Irish Banks Team

  • Niall Moriarty
  • Aidan Byrne
  • Robert Cooke
  • Kean Gilbert

3rd place – SuMi Trust Team

  • Colm Geary
  • Peter Callaghan
  • Karl McEneff
  • David Carroll

Congratulations also to Uniqe Japan Tours team and Dillon Eustace team for participating in the tournament.

Many thanks to everybody who helped to organize this event, our hosts at the Hermitage golf club and all the participants. Many thanks to KWE Ireland, ANA, Dillon Eustace and BOI for prize sponsorship.

We are looking forward to our Golf Outing 2019 next year!

IJA celebrates its biggest event of the year – Annual Dinner 2018

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16th February 2018 was a special day in the calendar of events for Ireland Japan Association as its members and friends came together to celebrate one of the biggest and most anticipated events of the year – IJA Annual Dinner.

Photo: Doylecollection.com

This year the Annual Dinner took place at The Westbury Hotel, one of the most iconic and beautiful locations in Dublin. IJA was delighted to welcome H.E. Mrs. Mari Miyoshi, Ambassador of Japan in  Ireland, and Mr. Nicky Comyn, IRFU Junior Vice President as honorary guests at the event.

On arrival, all dinner guests were treated to a sake reception with compliments from the Embassy of Japan in Ireland.

Event continued with speeches given by Ms. Darina Slattery, IJA Chairperson, H.E. Mrs. Mari Miyoshi, Ambassador of Japan in Ireland, and Mr. Nicky Comyn, IRFU Junior Vice President.

Dinner guests enjoyed a 3 course menu followed by prize giving raffle which was generously sponsored by IJA members. The grand prize this year was 2 return flights to Japan sponsored by Finnair.

IJA would like to thank Council members for their time and hard work helping to make this event such a successful celebration for everybody.

IJA would like to thank Corporate members who supported this event: Finnair, Allied Irish Banks, Bank of Ireland, KWE Ireland, PM Group, Matheson, SuMi Trust, Unique Japan Tours and Yamamori Restaurants.

Big thank you goes also to our friends from Japanese Saturday School in Dublin who made the beautiful origami decorations for the dinner tables and Miss Laura Hegarty for the wonderful ‘Koto’ performance.

IJA Annual Dinner 2018 was one of the 60th Anniversary events commemorating diplomatic relationship between Ireland and Japan.

 

IJA Golf Outing 2017 Results

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This year IJA Annual Golf Outing took place on 5th October in beautiful Milltown Golf Club, Dublin. We would like to thank all the teams who participated and send a special congratulations to the winners – SuMi Trust Team who have won the Cup for the second year in a row!

The list of winners:

1st place & winners of the IJA Golf Cup 2017 – SuMi Trust Team 

  • Colm Geary 
  • Peter Callaghan
  • Karl Purcell
  • David Carroll

1st place & winners of the IJA Golf Cup 2017 – SuMi Trust Team

2nd place – Dillon Eustace Team 

  • Shane Geraghty 
  • Ross McCormack 
  • Conor MacGuinness 
  • Shane Coman

2nd place – Dillon Eustace Team

3rd place – Bank of Ireland Team 1

  • Dan O’Donnell 
  • Liam Mernane 
  • David Carthy 
  • Rory Mullen

3rd place – Bank of Ireland Team 1

 4th place – Bank of Ireland Team 2

  • Derek Collins 
  • Kevin Dempsey 
  • Gerry Burke 
  • Barry O’Neill

4th place – Bank of Ireland Team 2

Congratulations to all teams again and we look forward to our Golf Outing 2018 next year!