The W.B.Yeats Society of New York observed its 25th anniversary June 9  with a "Roast and Toast"  of founder Andrew McGowan at the National Arts Club. The event also celebrated the 150th anniversary of the birth of William Butler Yeats, the immortal Irish poet and playwrite, who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1923. Yeats was born in Sandymount, Dublin, on June 13, 1865.

The stellar evening at the landmark NAC offered readings of Yeats's poetry, as well as in-person and video tributes to both Yeats and McGowan. Among those honoring Andy for his tireless, often solitary, work on behalf of New York's largest society honoring a singular literary figure, were MC and board member Don Bates; George Heslin, founder of the Origin Theatre Company; Declan Kiley, curator of the Morgan Library and Museum; Larry Kiirwan, lead singer of Black 47; and Barbara Jones, Consul General of Ireland in New York. Video tributes, which included a few barbs at Andy, came from the likes of noted novelist Peter Quinn, celebrated raconteur Malachy McCourt, and Charlotte Moore, artistic director of the Irish Repetorey Theatre. There was also a  tribute to Andy as "Pop" featuring his wife, Judy; his sons Ian, Peter and Sean, his three daughters- in-law and five grandchilden. The grand finale of the festivities was the presentation to Andy of the society's "Golden Apple Award."

Sndy McGowan was born in the Bronx, New York, of Irish immigrant parents who came from Donegal and Leitrim. He is a graduate of City College of New York and has been active in CCNY alumni activities, as well as his fraternity, Phi Kappa Theta. After serving as a public relations professional with St. Luke's Hospital Center, he became president of DWJ Television, the nation's oldest and largest video news release company. He founded the W.B. Yeats Society of New York June 13, 1990, on the poet's 125th birthday, to stimulate interest in Ireland's outstanding literary figure.

Andy and Judy McGowan