Feargall Kenny

When I was a kid, my mum painted a New York skyline on my bedroom wall. I woke up literally surrounded by the Manhattan skyline! My dad also lived in NYC for 3 years in his 20s and gave me a “Chock full o’nuts” coffee tin from his time there as a keepsake that I kept beside my bed. So while it might have seemed predestined – Subliminal even- that I would end up here,  it really looked unlikely heading into my final year of college. With unemployment hovering around 18% I resigned myself to to trying my luck in London post-graduation. Then, out of nowhere, a chance to literally switch direction, head West and follow in my dad’s footprints: A Morrison visa offer. A lottery application. Then, two months later,  a golden ticket to NYC!

I headed off with a 500 bucks in my pocket and an interview suit stuffed into the bottom my rucksack. I waited tables to keep the wolf from the door but I was terrible at it.  Responding to Classified ads in the NY Times employment section (Remember that?) was the key to my salvation.  Within 6 weeks, much to the relief of my dining customers,  I started a career in a startup in technology sales.  The CEOs mum being half Irish certainly didn’t hurt.

“I was off to the races and got an firsthand view of the dot com boom – storage systems, Connectivity, Datacenters, Software, my own startup. 15 years in, I went out on my own and setup a recruiting firm. Glenborn, that is  still thriving to this day.”

I never forgot those humble beginnings though and I still try give back by helping others in the same situation that I was in. In 2014, I setup the Digital Irish group to promote Irish startups expanding to the U.S. That group is now 5000 strong and has chapters in NY, DC, London, Sydney and Melbourne. I also helped setup the first Irish-affinity Angel Group and Venture fund and, in a full circle moment, I now help Irish J1 graduate students find jobs over here. I am lucky to be married to another Morrison recipient with her own amazing making-it-in-America story, Deirdre O’Connor, and we have 3 great kids, Cliona, Colin and Ava that are now heading into their own U.S. adventures in college and beyond.

Bruce Morrison helped me create my own version of the American dream. I took the opportunity to thank him via email on my 20 year anniversary in the country in July 2014. I said:

“I wanted to give you a heartfelt thanks for supporting the Visa Program that bears your name. I am in the U.S. 20 years ago today, courtesy of that program. I applied in my final year of Trinity College in 1994 and really have found America to live up to its billing as the land of opportunity. Thanks again for all that you did back then. This beneficiary really appreciates it.”

He responded, “Thank you for your message. I am glad it has been a good 20 years. Your success is America’s success, what immigration is all about.” Thank you again, Congressman Morrison.

You fundamentally changed the course of my life, and I will be forever grateful for that.