Brewer Ivan Keane was named as the winner of the prestigious Beacon award to round off a stunning sold-out gala evening staged by the Irish Chamber Of Commerce In Sweden at the Elite Marina Tower hotel in Stocholm on Saturday.
The hard-working Irish brewer could not be on hand to collect the award, so last year’s recipient Neil Costigan stepped in to do the honours, crowning an event that has fast become indispensable in the Swedish-Irish social calendar.
Led by the ambassadors from Ireland, Ukraine and New Zealand, the attendees ranged from the major engineering and construction companies such as headline sponsors Jones Engineering to young academics at the very beginning of their careers, and everyone in between.
The day started at 1400 with a well-attended networking event featuring businesses and traders of all sizes, with the “Irish In Sweden” podcast on hand to record interviews with some of the participants.
The gala evening itself consisted of a wonderful three-course menu featuring salmon, venison and chocolate mousse paired with some beautiful wines, with board member Sofie Murphy expertly guiding guests through the evening as MC.
With “resilience” as the theme of the evening, an excellent opening speech by ICCS president Declan Caulfield was followed by a fascinating and hopeful keynote speech from Swedish scientist Lizen Schultz and an address form Irish ambassador Barbara Jones, whose combination of humour, directness and warmth delighted the crowd before Ivan’s triumphant moment.
The formalities were followed by live music as the networking and mingling went on into the early hours of the morning, and at the fringes the ICCS committee could be seen already planning how they would top this magnificent event in 2024.