Volunteers from all 32 counties honoured at Volunteers in Sport Awards (Photos at end of Press Release)
- Awards celebrate the 450,000 volunteers contributing to sport in clubs and communities across Ireland
- Swim Ireland’s Mary Dunne receives ‘outstanding contribution’ award and Limerick based Women on Wheels receives the ‘team of volunteers’ award
Volunteers from all 32 counties were honoured at today’s Volunteers in Sport Awards, hosted by the Federation of Irish Sport, in partnership with EBS, in Farmleigh House, Dublin.
The Volunteers in Sport Awards were created to recognise the contributions, commitment and dedication of the 450,000 volunteers who give their time to Irish sport each year. This equates to approximately 37.3 million hours of volunteering across Ireland’s 14,000 registered sports clubs and associations.
Members of the public, sports clubs and governing bodies were invited to nominate an individual whose contributions to sport has made a real difference to their community, club or county.
The award recipients were selected by a judging panel consisting of 12 individuals drawn from sports administration, the volunteer community and media, including former Director General of the GAA, Paraic Duffy, The Irish Times sports journalist and activist, Joanne O’Riordan and former Irish rugby international, Trevor Ringland.
Minister of State for Tourism and Sport, Brendan Griffin TD was in attendance to present the awards. In addition to the 32 county-level award winners, Swim Ireland’s Mary Dunne received the overall ‘outstanding contribution’ award and Limerick-based ‘Women on Wheels’ received the ‘team of volunteers’ award.
The award winners are as follows:
COUNTY | NAME | SPORT | CLUB
|
Antrim | James McLornan | GAA | St Comgalls GAA
|
Armagh | Paula Powell Enright | GAA | Armagh Harps GAA |
Carlow | Tommy Murphy | GAA | Naomh Eoin Myshall |
Cavan | Mark Lawlor | GAA | Belturbit Rory O’Moores GAA |
Clare | Seamus Spaight | GAA | Meelick GAA
|
Cork | Liam Evans | GAA | St James’ GAA Clonakilty |
Derry | Seamus Kyne | Bowling | Irish Indoor Bowling Association |
Donegal | Peadar McGranaghan | Athletics | Finn Vally AC |
Down | Stephen Crothers | Cricket | Instonians Cricket |
Dublin | Bronwyn O’Donnell | Hockey | Loreto Hockey Club, Rathfarnham |
Fermanagh | Gaye Conway | Rowing | Enniskillen Royal Boat Club |
Galway | Derek Niland | Rugby | Galway Corinthians |
Kerry | Jennifer O’Sullivan | Boxing | Sliabh Lucra BC |
Kildare | Shirley MacDermott | Equestrian | Special Olympics Ireland |
Kilkenny | Paul Cummins | Ice Hockey | Kilkenny Storm |
Laois | Pat Kelly | Athletics | St. Abbans Athletics Club |
Leitrim | Mary O’Donnell | Athletics | Carrick – on – Shannon AC |
Limerick | Sharon Galvin | Soccer | Limerick Belles FC |
Longford | Carol Murray | GAA | Longford Slashers GAA |
Louth | Fetpai Fappito | Basketball | Dundalk Ravens Basketball Club |
Mayo*** | Sinead McGrath | Equestrian | Ballinrobe Riding Club |
Meath | Mary Davitt | Special Olympics | Navan Arch Club |
Monaghan | Ned Boyle | Gymnastics | Killeevan Gymnastics Club |
Offaly | Yvonne Tierney | Swimming | Ballinamere Special Olympics Club |
Roscommon | Eamonn Bulger | Soccer | Ballyboro football club |
Sligo | Gerry Touhy | GAA | Calry St Josephs GAA |
Tipperary | Martin Quinn | GAA | Galtee Rovers GAA |
Tyrone | Kenneth Strong | Table Tennis | Table Tennis Ireland |
Waterford | Michael Walsh | Soccer | Waterford FC
|
Westmeath | Eugene Dolan | GAA | St Pauls GFC Clonmellon |
Wexford | Nemone Van Der Bliake | Park Run | Heritage Park, Junior Park Run |
Wicklow | Theresa Kinane | Athletics | Greystones & District AC |
Outstanding Contribution | Mary Dunne | Swimming | Ballina Dolphins |
Team | Women on Wheels | Cycling | Limerick LSP |
Comment
Speaking at the awards, Mary O’Connor, CEO of the Federation of Irish Sport, said:
“Sport matters. It contributes to our health, binds us together as a community and supports the economy, while bringing a sense of pride to us all.
“This would not be possible without the volunteers who share their time and expertise on pitches, tracks, gym floors and swimming pools across the country each and every week. To this end, the Volunteers in Sport Awards is an opportunity to recognise and celebrate these volunteers.
“I would like to extend my congratulations to all our award winners and to thank Minister Griffin for attending our awards ceremony and taking the time out to help honour our award recipients.”
Commenting from the awards ceremony, Minister of State for Tourism and Sport, Brendan Griffin, TD, said:
“It was a real honour for me to attend the Volunteers in Sport Awards. As somebody who has been involved in sport at an amateur level since I was a child myself, I have always marvelled at the commitment that so many club members show to their communities up and down the country.
“It is a real privilege to recognise the contribution made by those who do so much for others in fulfilling the less glamourous but most definitely vital and often overlooked tasks involved in almost any sport you can imagine. The men and women honoured today may not be household names across the country but in their own communities they are real treasures. I was delighted to speak to many of them today. My thanks to the Federation of Irish Sport and all those who made this ceremony such a memorable occasion for all the recipients.”
According to Des Fitzgerald, CEO of EBS:
“EBS has been involved in communities in Ireland for over 80 years and are delighted to reignite our activity in communities around the country by supporting the 2019 Volunteers in Sports Awards with The Federation of Irish Sport. Through a new partnership with The Federation of Irish Sport we are delighted to celebrate volunteers in sport in Ireland and I would like to congratulate all the recipients of the 2019 Volunteers in Sports Awards. At EBS we know that our biggest asset is our people who work with customers in the community. That’s why EBS is delighted to champion the army of volunteers in sport that make sure sport happens throughout Ireland every day.”
For full details on all winners and their achievements please see https://www.irishsport.ie/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Volunteers_booklet_ONLINE_v3.pdf
For more information, visit www.volunteersinsport.ie.
ENDS
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Peadar McGranagan of Finn Valley AC, Co. Donegal
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Martin Quinn of Galtee Rovers GAA Club, Co. Tipperary
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Seamus Spaight of Meelick GAA, Co. Clare
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Carol Murray of Longford Slashers GAA, Co Longford
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Theresa Kinane of Greystones and District AC, Co. Wicklow
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Shirley MacDermott from Special Olympics, Co Kildare
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Derek Niland from Cloonacauneen, Co. Galway
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Mark Lawlor of Belturbet Rory O'Moores GFC, Co. Cavan
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Sharon Galvin of Limerick Belles FC, Co. Limerick
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The Wow Cycling Captains win Volunteer Team of the Year from Co Limerick
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Michael Walsh of Waterford United, Co. Waterford
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James McLornan of St Comgalls CLG, Co. Antrim
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Pat Kelly of St Abban's AC, Co Laois
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Mary Dunne of Ballina Dolphins Swimming Club, Co. Mayo
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Mary O'Donnell of Carrick-on-Shannon AC, Co. Leitrim
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Gerry Tuohy from Co. Sligo
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Eamonn Bolger from Co Roscommon
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Paul Cummins of Kilkenny Storm Ice Hockey, Co. Kilkenny
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Nemone Van Der Bliake from Parkrun, Co. Wexford
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Sinead McGrath from Co Mayo
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Tommy Murphy from Co Carlow
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Seamus Kyne of the Irish Indoor Bowling Association, from Co. Derry
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Eugene Dolan of St Pauls GAA, Co. Westmeath
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Ned Bolyle from Co Monaghan, second from right.
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Paula Powell Enright of Armagh Harps Gaelic Football Club, Co. Armagh
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Mary Davitt of Navan Arch Club, Co. Meath
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Liam Evans of St James' GAA Club, Co. Cork
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Gaye Conway of Enniskillen Royal Boat Club, Co. Fermanagh
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Kenneth Strong of Table Tennis Ireland from Co. Tyrone
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Fetaoi Faapito of Dundalk Rovers Basketball Club, Co Louth
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Bronwyn O'Donnell of Loreto Hockey Club, Co. Dublin
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Jennifer O'Sullivan of Sliabh Luacra BC, Co Kerry
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Yvonne Tierney of Ballinamere Special Olympics Club, Co. Offaly