MARY PAT KELLY TO RECEIVE EUGENE O'NEILL LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

Join us to celebrate acclaimed author, filmmaker, historian, and chronicler of the Irish American experience on Tuesday, October 20 at Joe’s Pub at The Public Theater

Irish American Writers & Artists (IAW&A) will present author and filmmaker Mary Pat Kelly with its 2026 Eugene O’Neill Lifetime Achievement Award, honoring her extraordinary body of work and her enduring contributions to literature, film, television, history, and Irish American culture.

The Eugene O’Neill Lifetime Achievement Award recognizes an artist whose life's work reflects the creative excellence and cultural impact associated with O'Neill. Born in New York in 1888 to an Irish American family, he became America's preeminent dramatist and the first American playwright to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature.

Mary Pat Kelly's career offers a contemporary continuation of that storytelling tradition—one that crosses generations, genres, and an ocean, while keeping the Irish American experience at its heart.

Mary Pat Kelly is a bestselling author, filmmaker, historian, and cultural commentator whose work explores Irish, Irish-American, and American stories. She is the author of Galway Bay, Of Irish Blood, Irish Above All, and Special Intentions, as well as nonfiction books including Martin Scorsese: The First Decade, Martin Scorsese: A Journey, and Good to Go: The Rescue of Scott O’Grady from Bosnia. Her filmmaking credits include the feature film Proud and award-winning PBS documentaries including To Live for Ireland, Home Away from Home: The Yanks in Ireland, and Proudly We Served: The Men of the USS Mason. She has worked for Good Morning America and Saturday Night Live and as a screenwriter for Paramount and Columbia Pictures. She holds a Ph.D. in English from the CUNY Graduate Center.

The evening will feature live Irish music and dance, food and drink, and an opportunity to celebrate with artists, writers, performers, and supporters from throughout the Irish American cultural community.

Irish American Writers & Artists (IAW&A) is a community of writers, musicians, actors, filmmakers, visual artists, and other creative professionals dedicated to celebrating and advancing Irish American arts and culture. Through performances, exhibitions, readings, conversations, and other programs, IAW&A provides a forum for artists whose work reflects the rich and evolving relationship between Ireland and America. The evening will feature live Irish music and dance, food and drink, and an opportunity to celebrate with artists, writers, performers, and supporters from throughout the Irish American cultural community.

Early Bird tickets will be $180 per person until September 20, and $200 per person after September 20. Tickets include a reception with food, wine, and beer service, plus a one-year membership to IAW&A.

Admission at the door will be $225 per person, in cash or check.

iamwa.org