As its recent Annual General Meeting, the United Irish Societies of Montreal elected Paul Loftus as President. Paul is the first Irish-born president in 54 years. He comes from Ballina in County Mayo.

Since arriving in Montreal, Paul has been heavily involved in the Irish community. He is the former Secretary of the Montreal GAA and was Captain of the Gaelic football team for five years. He also held the following positions: Director, The Ireland Fund of Canada; Vice Chairman, Jeanie Johnson Project; President, Montreal Irish Rugby Football Club and Co-host Montreal Irish TV show. He is also the co-founder of the Ireland-Canada Chamber of Commerce.  Currently, he is the Chairman of the Federation of Irish Societies, Montreal; the President of Montreal Chapter, University College Dublin (UCD) Alumni Association; Director, St. Patrick’s Society; Director, Thomas D’Arcy McGee Foundation; Director, Ireland-Canada Chamber of Commerce, Montreal Chapter and a member of the Gaelic Athletic Association, Montreal Irish RFC, Ciné Gael and Innisfail Social & Sports Club.

Paul attended St. Muredach’s College in Ballina and graduated from University College Dublin with a B.Comm. He completed a BA in Psychology at Concordia University in Montreal and an M.Sc. in Industrial and Organisational Psychology at Lamar University, Texas. Paul runs his own consulting business and is an Industrial/Organisational Psychologist, an Intercultural Consultant and a Freelance Journalist.

The United Irish Societies of Montreal Inc. (UIS) organises the annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade as it has done since it was founded in 1928. The parade is the largest in Canada and one of the 5 longest in the world. It is watched by up to three-quarters of a million people. Next year’s parade will be the 195^th continuous one. Other UIS activities include the annual St. Patrick’s Parade Queen’s Selection Evening; and the annual Parade Awards Banquet and Dinner Dance. The benevolent works of the UIS consist of a Christmas raffle, proceeds of which provide food baskets to needy families; and financial support to children’s hospitals and local community organisations.

Its aims and objectives are:

• To foster and promote the annual celebration of the Feast of Saint Patrick.
• To foster and safeguard the interests of the Irish community of Greater Montreal, the Province of Quebec and Canada.
• To encourage communication and friendly relations with all Canadians of other cultural backgrounds and
• To promote charitable and community services.