Member Article

St Patrick's Day charity ball

Two North East charities will be the beneficiaries of a night of entertainment at a charity ball to celebrate St Patrick’s Day on Saturday 17 March. Organised by the University of Sunderland, the proceeds from the event will go to St Clare’s Hospice in South Tyneside and St Benedict’s Hospice in Sunderland.

English lecturer Alison Younger, an expert in Irish literature, has spent almost a year organising the St Patrick’s Day Ball. The evening, at the Ramside Hall, is being run by the North East Irish Culture Network (NEICN) at the University of Sunderland, which is headed by Alison. The NEICN is an academic association based at the Universities of Sunderland and Durham. It seeks to promote and encourage the study and teaching of all aspects of the society, culture and literature of the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland and the Irish Diaspora.

The ball includes dinner, ceilidh, Irish music and a dance performance. The highlight of the night will be an auction, with an array of prizes on offer. They include a racing day at Croft and the use of a Mercedes for a weekend as well as many others. Running the auction is London auctioneer and world authority on contemporary glass, Professor Dan Klein. Prof Klein used to work for auctioneers Christies and is a visiting lecturer at the university. Former Sunderland footballer Julio Arca will also be at the event.

The dress code is black tie and you can purchase tickets at £60 per person, or £500 for a table of ten. To reserve your tickets visit www.neicn.co.uk, contact Susan Cottam on 0191 5153621 or email susan.cottam@sunderland.ac.uk.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .