Mercy Home president enters Irish American Hall of Fame

Fr. Donahue with award at Irish Hall of Fame induction, April 27

Father L. Scott Donahue, president and CEO of Mercy Home for Boys & Girls, was inducted into the Irish American Hall of Fame on April 27.

Located inside Chicago’s Irish American Heritage Center, the Irish American Hall of Fame recognizes and honors the outstanding contributions of Irish Americans to society in the areas of arts & humanities, business and industry, public service, sports, religion, education and science.

Fr. Donahue entered the Hall in the religion category for his 37-year ministry as a Catholic priest, the majority of which he has spent overseeing the care, therapeutic services, educational support, and career preparation for children and teens living at Mercy Home. This year’s other inductees included Dorothy Day, Sen. John McCain, Pat Roche, James J. O’Connor, Jack O’Callahan, Mother Mary Gerald Barry, O.P., Kathleen “Kay” McNulty Mauchly Antonelli, and Fiona McEntee.

Fr. Donahue joined famous Irish Americans already enshrined in the Hall, including some of the most significant figures in American history, social service, arts, letters, and leisure.

In the political arena alone, members include Presidents John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan, Senators Robert F. Kennedy and Daniel Patrick Moynihan, House Speaker Thomas “Tip” O’Neil, and Chicago Mayors Richard J. Daley and Richard M. Daley.

Additionally, the Hall includes a who’s who of writers, scientists, authors, athletes and entertainers, including Bill Murray, Spencer Tracy, Martin Sheen, Bing Crosby, Bob Newhart, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Eugene O’Neill, Frank McCourt, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Nolan Ryan, Jack Dempsey, and so many more.

Fr. Donahue is the eighth in an unbroken string of Irish-American priests who have led Mercy Home for Boys & Girls as President since its founding in 1887 by Chicago’s first Archbishop, Patrick Feehan, who originally hailed from Tipperary, Ireland.

For more information, https://www.mercyhome.org/blog/home-updates/father-scott-joins-rank-of-influential-irish-americans

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