Irish Star Paul O’Connell Announced as New Haven Ambassador



I have worked with Haven over the past few years, photographing events raising money for the building of houses in Haiti. Yesterday, I photographed some of the great names in Rugby, at Haven's Annaul Six Nations Rugby Luncheon. Below are some of the photos and the press release

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Irish Star Paul O’Connell Announced as New Haven Ambassador

Haven Six Nations Rugby Luncheon Attracts Rugby Greats to Lineout and Support Haiti

Conor O’Shea Receives Outstanding Irish Contribution to Rugby Award

Today (09/03/12) at the Haven Annual Six Nations Rugby Luncheon, Paul O’Connell was announced as the new Haven Ambassador. O’Connell, who is out of contention for the remainder of the Six Nations campaign due to injury, will be lining out for Haven as the charity raises awareness and funds for its work in Haiti.

According to Leslie Buckley, Founder & Chairman of Haven, “It is a great honour to have Paul O’Connell on board with us as our new Haven Ambassador. We are delighted to have such a stalwart of Irish Rugby who is willing to give generously of his time to support those thousands of people living in appalling conditions in Haiti”.

Haven is building homes and sustainable communities in Haiti, where over half a million people remain in basic camps since the catastrophic earthquake of 2010. Paul O’Connell, who is hoping to travel to Haiti in the near future, said “I am extremely excited about coming on board with Haven. The work they are doing is changing lives every day and it is an honour to be part of that. I hope my support can help shine a light on the hardship and poverty endured by hundreds of thousands of people in this small country.”

Also attending the Six Nations Rugby Luncheon in the Four Seasons Hotel was Conor O’Shea, RTE pundit and Director of Rugby at Harlequins. Conor was awarded with the ‘Outstanding Irish Contribution to Rugby Award’ for his feats on and off the pitch. According to O’Shea “It is a great honour to be chosen as the recipient of this Award. I am in a lucky position to love what I do and when recognition such as this comes with it, it is very flattering. The work Haven is doing in Haiti is truly admirable and I am a big supporter of the charity.”

Paul O’Connell who took part in a Q&A at the Lunch with George Hook and Jim Glennon also said “It is shocking to see that this country has been ravaged so drastically for generations, both through natural disasters and corrupt governance - the result being that hundreds of thousands have nowhere to call home, so many children have never been to school and poverty and ill health are part of the daily struggle.”

Also attending the lunch in the Four Seasons were prominent businessmen Denis O’Brien and Terence O’Rourkeamong others.

Haven’s Annual Rugby Luncheon aims to raise €30,000 to support the ongoing projects in Haiti. The charity will be bringing 45 volunteers to Haiti in May for Build It Week and has a target of building 10,000 houses in Haiti by 2014.

Official Press Release From Haven