What has been a constant over a couple of years that have tested us all is that fusion of the United States and Ireland we know as Irish America to give to the world extraordinary men and women whose talent, industry and energy are outstanding examples of the broader foundation needed for a return to more prosperous times.
At the end of day, the best stimulus we can give ourselves is to be found in ourselves, and this is never more the case than with those who are forging their paths through the hectic years that are their twenties and thirties.
Not that life exactly slows down once you hit forty. Quite the contrary. But the world, rightly or wrongly, tends to have certain expectations based on age.
So certain things are anticipated of people under forty that might not come into play down the road a bit.
Those certain things are in full evidence, and then some, in the group of forty that has been selected for our 2010 awards which are being presented this week at a reception in the Irish Consulate in Manhattan.
As was the case last year, and in 2008, we received more nominations than the forty that have been chosen. Yet again, it is a case of an embarrassment of riches.
None among the award winners are being acknowledged for simply being under forty, but rather for what they have accomplished, and continue to promise, in their less than four score years.
To the forty who have been named to the awards list for 2010, we at the Irish Echo are delighted, as are our sponsors, Mutual of America, Kalikow, Recruit Legal and Tourism Ireland, to honor you, your work and your achievements and we wish all of you the very best in the years ahead.
