ATLANTA—Attorney Matt Naughton will be honored as the 2013 Irishman of the Year at the annual black tie ball and banquet of the Hibernian Benevolent Society of Atlanta.

Consul-General Paul Gleeson, of the Irish Consulate in Atlanta, and his wife, Alita, will also be guests of honor at the event, which will be held at the Druid Hills Golf Club on Saturday, March 9, from 6:30 to 11:45 p.m. The event is open to all who support Irish culture and enjoy Irish music and dance. Tickets are $95 or $950 for a table of 10.

The evening includes a plated dinner of filet of beef and wild salmon with sides of vegetables and potatoes along with salad and dessert. Two bottles of wine are included at each table. A cash bar is available before and after dinner. Entertainment will be provided by the Laigh Langley Dance Band, whose repertoire includes popular and contemporary songs, classics, and ballroom music. Following dinner there will be a program of Irish dancing by the King-O’Sullivan School of Irish Dance and a sing-along of traditional Irish songs.

The honoree, Naughton, is a native of County Roscommon, Ireland, where he grew up on a family farm, the youngest of seven children, and attended Summerhill College. When jobs were few, he came to the United States, sponsored by two older sisters, and while working, also entered Fordham University in New York, where he studied in the evenings and graduated with a degree in business management. He later earned a law degree at John Marshall Law School in Atlanta and had a law practice in Clarkston until his retirement. He and his wife, Caroline, are the longest serving members of the Hibernian Benevolent Society of Atlanta. He has served as president for three different terms, chaired numerous committees and organized and directed the St. Patrick’s Day Parade.

Consul-General Gleeson will speak on hopes and aspirations for maintaining cultural ties between Atlanta and Ireland.

To purchase tickets to the ball and banquet, contact chairpersons Lilly O’Neil and Suzanne Flowers at (770) 640-0287 or email rf_oneil@yahoo.com. Additional information is available at www.irishatlanta.com.