WEST SPRINGFIELD – The Irish government’s Emigrant Support Programme has awarded the Irish Cultural Center of Western New England (ICC) a grant to help fund the center’s first full-time position.

The $64,000 grant will support a new executive director position for the center, which relies solely on volunteers. The position’s responsibilities will focus on completing the ICC’s $3 million facility on Morgan Road, expanding the number of patrons and supporting events geared toward promoting Irish culture.

“We’re thrilled about this,” said ICC President Sean F. Cahillane. “The idea of what we’re asking for – and what the Irish government is supporting – is that we will become a more prominent, influential and stable charity because we will have an Executive Director that will be full-time to help us raise funds and promote the facility.”

The ICC is a 501(c)(3) non-profit charity with more than 900 donors, called patrons. It is dedicated to preserving Irish culture and connections between Ireland and Western New England, as well as serving as a liaison between the region and the Irish government. The center has an active restaurant and pub, and provides access to Irish-oriented lectures, concerts, art exhibitions, political discussions and more.

Cahillane said the center applied for the grant through the Irish government’s Emigrant Support Programme (ESP), which provides financial support to organizations engaged in “the delivery of front line advisory services and community care to Irish emigrants,” about a year ago. In October, the center was approved for the grant.

“Basically, the Irish government is reaching out to us and saying that they really like what we’re doing for promoting culture and preserving the relationship between Irish culture and Western New England,” said the ICC president.

Announcing the grant are U.S. Congressman Richard E. Neal, Consul-General of Ireland Fionnuala Quinlan, and Cahillane. All three heavily supported the application process.

The grant follows the recent sister-city relationship formed between West Springfield and the Irish town of Dingle in County Kerry, Ireland. The ICC played an instrumental role in creating that new partnership as well.

Cahillane said it’s important to keep these connections between Western New England and Ireland healthy and thriving, due to the high population of Irish-descendants in the area. He said he believes having a full-time Executive Director will be beneficial in encouraging these relationships.

“If you have a full-time employee you can promote more connections – you can get more cultural offerings, music, dance, poets and authors,” he said. “These people are coming to America now, and they’re coming to Boston, to Chicago, to Washington and now we’re hoping we’ll be on the circuit.”

The center is looking forward to getting someone on board quickly, according to Cahillane. They hope to have the position filled within the next few weeks.