Euro Celtic Institute - Board / Staff

Ray Carr, President

Ray Carr was Born in Drogheda Ireland, the largest town in Ireland. A product of St. Joseph C.B.S. All Gaelic primary/secondary school, Ray displayed his gratitude the brothers of CBS by furthering his education at the Technical Institute of Engineering and later at Hunter College in NYC where he studied economics. A gifted musican, performer and actor, Ray has been heard many times on Radio Eireann and at various venues around the country.
In New York Ray worked for F Schumacher & Co, an interior design firm with distinguished clients such as the White House, and the Chambers of the United States Supreme Court. Eventually Ray founded his own companies including Chelsea House Fabrics US, Rock House Designs Ireland Ltd. and Natural Surfaces US. He serves on the board of many fine organizations including the Irish Georgian Society, Bonds for Ireland, the Taft Museum in Cincinnati and the Old Drogheda Society. He is Past President & Trustee of Friendly Sons St. Patrick in Cincinnati as well as a member of CSANA (Celtic Studies Association of North America).

Henry M. Butch O'Neil

Mr. O'Neill is the CEO and Chairman of the Board of Directors of IRTH Solutions, a leader in the Call Before You Dig industry, Henry Butch O'Neill and has maintained this role since he purchased the company in 1985. Prior to becoming the CEO and Chairman of the Board, Mr. O'Neill was Chairman of Beverage Management Inc., a multi-state manufacturer and distributor of soft drinks and bottled water, which began as a small family-owned business, and evolved into a $250 million-a-year public corporation with approximately 3,000 employees.
Mr. O'Neill's current and past experience includes:
Member, Board of Directors, Lancaster Colony Corporation, 1976 to present; Board of Directors, American Red Cross, 1968 to 1972;
International Young Presidents Board Member, 1973 to 1980;
Board of Directors, Center of Science and Industry, 1982 to present;
Treasurer, OSU Alumni Association, 1986 to 1992; and also served as a borad member at Heimlich Institute.
He has also served as Civilian Aid to the Secretary of the Army, Ohio Chairman, Employee Support of the Ohio National Guard and as a member of the Ohio Electoral College. Mr. O'Neill is an ROTC graduate from The Ohio State University with a degree in Business Administration. Mr. O'Neill lives in Columbus, Ohio, has 4 adult children and 5 grandchildren, he has traveled extensively and is recognized for both his political and social activities.

Gareth Howell

Gareth L. Howell is a University of Wales law graduate and was a Magistrate in Wales. He and his family moved to Cincinnati in 2004. He is President and CEO of the International Visitors and World Affairs Councils at the Global Center of Greater Cincinnati, and a past Vice-Chair of the International Employment Law Committee, American Bar Association. Until 2002, he was New York Representative of the International Labor Organization - a leading agency of the United Nations - where he worked on child and migrant labor, post-war reconstruction, and global employment. In 1996 in Bosnia, he led a World Bank task force to raise $130 million to re-employ ex-combatants. He advised governments in Africa and Latin America, and ran development programs in Asia. At the Bank, he managed a $120 million portfolio, and did a major study on China (published as "China: New Skills for Economic Development", World Bank, 1993). Formerly, he was a Ford Motor Company executive, and Program Director of the UN College in Turin, Italy.

Frank Delaney

Frank Delaney was born in Tipperary, Ireland, and after a fledgling career in banking became a broadcaster with RTE radio and television, the Irish state network, working on documentaries, music programmes and finally as a newsreader. In the mid 1970's he joined the Northern Ireland region of the BBC in Belfast as their current affairs man in Dublin and covered an intense period of the virtual war known as the Irish 'Troubles.' Later he moved to London where he began to work in arts broadcasting.
Delaney wrote and presented The Celts, a six part television series, seen in forty countries and still in active video and DVD distribution.
Delaney has written six books of non-fiction, nine novels, one novella, and a smattering of short stories published in both magazines and collections. He has edited compilations of essays and poetry, and written screenplays, among them, Goodbye Mr. Chips shown on ITV in Britain and Masterpiece Theater in the USA. His own first book, James Joyce's Odyssey was published to critical acclaim and best-seller status. Ireland, A Novel, his most recent fiction, has been on the New York Times best sellers lists in both hardback and paperback and on many other bestsellers lists across the US and the UK.

Edgar Slotkin

Dr. Slotkin is an accomplished professor and scholar of Celtic Studies, having written several articles, book chapters and other literature including a co-translation with Paul Burrell of A General Rhetoric by Groupe µ in 1981.
A highly distinguish professor, Dr. Slotkin celebrated his 20th anniversary with the University in 2006 and is currently Professor of English and Comparative Literature at the University of Cincinnati.
A 1965 graduate of Harvard University, with a Bachelors degree in English, he also attained his Masters and Doctoral degree in Celtic Languages and Literatures from Harvard in 1968 and 1977, respectively.
He started as a Teaching Fellow (Assistant) in General Education at Harvard University and was a Teaching Assistant from 1970-72 before joining the University of Cincinnati as an Assistant Professor of English from 1972-78.
An Associate Professor of English and Comparative Literature from 1978-86 and Professor of English and Comparative Literature in 1986, Dr. Slotkin was also a Visiting Professor for the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies in 1990, and again from 1997 to 1998, and for the University of Edinburgh from 1989 to 1990.
Dr. Slotkin has served on nine Graduate committees and was the former President of the Celtic Studies Association of North America (CSANA).

Frank O'Farrell

Born in Athlone and raised in Dublin, Frank ventured to the U.S. in the early 1980's landing in Cincinnati. After attending Xavier University's Radio/TV Communications program he embarked on a career in media production. One of his first transatlantic philanthropic ventures was LiveLink Ireland -- 15 years ago -- which used Video Conferencing technology to connect ex-patriots with their families at Christmas. The free event networked Cincinnati and Boston with the Shelbourne Hotel in Dublin and brought Christmas smiles to almost 1000 participants. Frank owns Binary Sky Communications, Cincinnati and is cofounder of Clicshare.com which has offices in Cincinnati and Dublin. He is active on a number of boards including SAY Soccer and gives his time to Walnut Hills Hills School, Mercy Montessori, and Kennedy Heights Montessori. He resides in East Walnut Hills and has 3 children.