Peadar Tóibín, Aontú, honoured in New York for pro-life leadership, courage and compassion

Peadar Tóibín, TD, leader of  Aontú, was honored for his pro-life and pro-family activism at a special reception in New York City, attended by a large gathering of pro-lifers and friends of Ireland who travelled from all parts of the region, braving bitter cold weather and a pending snowstorm. Irish-American Catholic couple, Eileen and late Chris Slattery, of Yonkers, NY, who dedicated their lives to saving babies lives from abortion, were also honored.

The event, hosted by Irish Pro-Life USA, presented the Distinguished Leadership Award to Tóibín; and the Public Service Award to the Slatterys of Yonkers, NY. The three are the first recipients of the newly-established honors, each receiving specially inscribed awards for pro-life leadership, courage and compassion.

The reception took place at Connolly’s Times Square, NYC, Saturday, January 24, 2026, immediately prior to the successful launch of Friends of Aontú USA at Connolly’s. 

Tóibín and the Slatterys were cited for their life-saving actions, policies and advocacy, which have garnered pro-life gains in the US and Ireland.

The awards were presented by Irish Pro-Life USA founder and leader, John Aidan Byrne, a dual US and Irish citizen who was born and raised in Ardee, Co. Louth, Ireland. He immigrated to New York in the 1980s and now lives in New Jersey with his wife, Margaret, and their family. “The extraordinary human rights work and tireless dedication of Peadar Tóibín and the Slatterys offer enormous hope to the Irish community, and pro-lifers in America and Ireland,” Byrne said at the reception.  

The trio honored notably campaigned to save Ireland’s pro-life Eighth Amendment—the Slatterys by appealing to the Irish diaspora in America; Tóibín among voters in Ireland—during the bitter Eighth Referendum in Ireland in May 2018. 

The Aontú leader and Meath West TD arrived in New York after visiting Washington DC.  He was part of a delegation in DC organized by the Ancient Order of Hibernians, meeting with a parade of lawmakers on Capitol Hill. Tóibín also attended the March for Life during his DC visit. 

“I’ve done hundreds of public meetings right across the 32 counties in Ireland, and I can tell you the New York Irish could give anyone one of them a run for the money in terms of energy,” Tóibín said. “We had dozens of people who signed up to be part of the new Friends of Aontú USA movement.” 

Tóibín told the awards ceremony at Connollys: “Aontú believes that the right to life is a human right. Sadly, we are the only party that supports this position in Ireland at the moment.” He added, “We want to provide support to all mothers so that they have the economic confidence to raise their children to their full extent.”

Tóibín resigned from Sinn Féin in late 2018 because of Sinn Fein’s anti-abortion outlook, and he set up Aontú in January 2019. Today, the party has 12 elected representatives on Councils around Ireland, the Dáil, and in the Senate.

Eileen and the late Chris Slattery campaigned tirelessly to end abortion in New York and nationwide. Chris founded EMC Frontline, formerly Expectant Mother Care, New York City’s largest network of pregnancy care centers, now part of the non-profit CompassCare Pregnancy Services.

A former advertising executive, Chris, who died in 2023, after a long struggle with cancer, was a stalwart pro-life activist along with wife Eileen, who accepted the Irish Pro-Life USA award on behalf of Chris, posthumously, and herself. 

Eileen Slattery

Back in 2018, Chris was part of a coalition of pro-life Irish Americans, led by Irish Pro-Life USA members, who met with officials at the Irish Consulate in New York City to publicly voice support for the Eighth Amendment. Both Eileen and Chris devoted their lives to pro-life work, saving over 40,000 babies, by supporting moms in crisis pregnancies, according to EMC. 

If Chris was alive today, said Eileen, he would have been “thrilled” to be part of the celebrations at Connolly’s. “I know when he was dying he was very concerned that the work at EMC would continue,” added Eileen. “We were very fortunate that CompassCare, under the auspices of the Rev. Jim Harden, has taken over and continued this mission wonderfully.”

Presenting Eileen a bouquet of roses, CompassCare Regional Executive, Arlene Rotella, said CompassCare continues on the shoulders of Chris Slattery. “We could not have done it [in New York] without him, and without the help and support of Eileen,” she said.

   

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About Irish Pro-Life USA

Irish Pro-Life USA is a grassroots US-based pro-life organization for the Irish diaspora and Friends of Ireland in America, dedicated to full civil rights for babies in the womb and pro-family, anti-abortion policies in Ireland, America and worldwide.

     

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John Aidan Byrne

  

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