Vision and Inspiration Award: Loretta Brennan Glucksman, Chair Emerita, The Ireland Funds America and Chair of New York University’s Glucksman Ireland House

By Mary Hendriksen
October 28th, 2024

Loretta Brennan Glucksman, 2024 Gala Honoree

Loretta Brennan Glucksman is a visionary leader who has worked with dedication and creativity to establish strong ties between America and the island of Ireland, and to explore the culture of Ireland and the Irish diaspora. Those explorations include attention to and scholarship on the nuances of the intersections of Ireland with slavery and with African Americans today. For more than three decades, she has been involved in philanthropic endeavors that focus on education, the arts, health care, and peace initiatives in both the United States and Ireland, a passion she shared with her late husband Lew Glucksman.

Now Chairman Emeritus of The Ireland Funds America, Mrs. Glucksman chaired the Ireland Funds for over 20 years before stepping down in December 2013. During that time, the organization exceeded its goal of raising $100 million under the Promising Ireland campaign and reset the target to $200 million.

Mrs. Glucksman is Chair of Glucksman Ireland House, which was founded in 1993 at New York University through the generosity of the Glucksmans. Glucksman Ireland House is NYU’s center for the study of Ireland and the Irish diaspora. It is renowned for its dynamic programming and research initiatives. She serves on the Board of the University of Limerick Foundation and is a long-time staunch supporter of FACES (Finding A Cure for Epilepsy and Seizures), which is affiliated with the NYU Langone Medical Center.

The Glucksmans established the Glucksman Chair of English and American Letters at NYU, and the Glucksman Chair of Irish and Scottish Studies at the University of Aberdeen. In 2002, University College Cork officially opened the Lewis Glucksman Gallery; in 2001, the Glucksmans established the Map Conservation Library at Trinity College, Dublin; and in 1998 they helped build the Glucksman Library at the University of Limerick.

In Ireland, Mrs. Glucksman has served on numerous boards, including IDA Ireland (national private sector economic development), The National Gallery of Ireland, The National Library, The National Concert Hall, The Abbey Theatre, Trinity College, University College Cork, The Royal College of Surgeons, Smurfit School of Business at the University of Dublin, and Cork Airport Authority.

In 2002, Mrs. Glucksman was conferred an Honorary Commander of the British Empire by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, the highest honor for a non-British citizen, for her work toward peace in Northern Ireland. She also received honorary degrees from the Universities of Scranton, Fairfield, Trinity, Cork and Queens College in Belfast, and she is an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Irish Academy, The Royal Dublin Society, and the Royal Irish Academy of Music.

Before beginning her career in philanthropy, Mrs. Glucksman had a decade-long career as an English teacher. She was then an on-air host and producer of news and public affairs for PBS, where she won several journalistic and civic awards. 

She was elected Grand Marshal of the Rainbow Parade for LGBT Association in 2016 and Grand Marshal of the St. Patrick’s Parade in 2017.