O'Brien to get Irish Spirit Award

NEW YORK, March 10 (UPI) -- Talk-show host Conan O'Brien will receive a spirit award at the American Ireland Fund Young Leaders St. Patrick's Day Celebration in New York.

Organizers said more than 800 people are expected to attend Thursday's event at Cipriani 23rd Street in Manhattan.

O'Brien will be honored with the 2008 Young Leaders Irish Spirit Award in recognition of his Irish heritage, outstanding achievements in the entertainment world and philanthropic work with the non-profit Labels are for Jars in his native Boston.

Proceeds from the event will help support PeacePlayers International, an organization that uses basketball as a tool to promote mutual understanding and respect between Catholic and Protestant communities in Northern Ireland.

"Thanks to the dedication and commitment of the New York Young Leaders, we are confident that this is going to be our most successful event to date. As a true celebration of all things Irish, we are proud to be part of what has quickly become one of the most important St. Patrick's Day parties in the greatest city in the world," event co-chairs Robert Fox and Pat Tully said in a statement.