Cork County Community Heroes Honoured at Mayor’s Awards
Mayor of the County of Cork Cllr. Mary Linehan Foley presented a total of eleven awards; three from each division of the county, South, North and West Cork with one overall community and voluntary group award and one overall individual award selected from these nine divisional award winners.
Mayor Foley commended all nominees on the night for their commitment and dedication to their communities,
“These annual awards celebrate the best of our county’s goodwill, generosity and altruism. It’s an important opportunity to acknowledge and celebrate the selfless work of volunteers who've supported our communities, our vulnerable or those impacted since Covid19. We celebrate too those who have committed their energy to long term projects that make Cork County a better place to live, making real measurable difference to people’s lives. I congratulate you all on your nominations.”
The overall individual award went to Mary Manning of Dromahane in acknowledgement of her commitment to her local area, while the overall community group award was won by Harper’s Island Steering group in recognition of the success of the Wetlands Project.
In South Cork, individual nominees were, multi marathon runner Rob O’Brien, who has been raising money for worthy causes since 2002, Paul Byrne, the man behind both the Passage Talent Show raising €11000 for Marymount and the Winter Wonderland Market in Passage and Aisling Claffey, for providing ongoing online ladybird Girl Guide sessions during lockdown.
Aisling Claffey, nominated by Cllr Audrey Buckley and Cllr Ben Dalton O’Sullivan and Paul Byrne, nominated by Cllr Seamus McGrath were presented with South Cork Awards by Mayor Foley.
Community Groups nominated in South Cork were; Carrigaline Covid19 Response Team, Cobh Red Cross Branch, Ballinhassig Parish Group, Aghabullogue GAA - Barrathon Committee and the Harpers Island Steering Group. The Harpers Island Group, nominated by Cllr. Anthony Barry, came away with the win in recognition of their efforts to convert a lost 70acre area between the N25 and Cobh to Midleton railway to a wetland reserve with a bird hide and an outdoor classroom area.
In North Cork, two individual nominees were award recipients on the night; Mary Manning of Dromahane, for her work with the Development Association and the community park in Dromahane was nominated by Cllr. Tony O’Shea. While Nicholas Roche of Killavullen, renowned locally for taking care of older community members and maintaining the village, was nominated by both Cllr Frank O'Flynn and Cllr William O'Leary.
In the North Cork, Community Groups Category, three organisations received nominations; Mallow Arts Collective which organises the annual Mallow Arts Festival, Mallow Art & Crafts Market for their pop-up art markets and Corrin Nature Reserve. The winning group was Corrin Nature Reserve, open since 2019, and nominated by Cllr William O'Leary in recognition of their achievements, including the reintroduction of the near extinct native Grey Partridge bird.
In West Cork, the individual Award nominees were physiotherapist Darren Kelly of Dunmanway who raised over €12,000 for charity, Donal McCarthy, Secretary of Clonakilty Agriculture Show, Niamh O’Connell, fundraiser and founder of the Kinsale Covid19 Volunteer Group and Deirdre Fitzgerald, Chair of Bantry Project Group. The winner of the West Cork individual award went to Donal McCarthy, nominated by Cllr John O’Sullivan, for his work in Clonakilty Agricultural Show and mentoring many community leaders, as well as his involvement in numerous local initiatives.
Community Group nominations for West Cork were; Skibbereen Geriatric Society - Meals on Wheels Service, Fastnet Trails, Dunmanway Community Meals – Dunmanway Resource Centre and Bantry Tidy Towns. The winners were Skibbereen Geriatric Society, nominated by Cllr Karen Coakley, for their meals on wheels extended services reaching Skibbereen, Baltimore and Rosscarbery and the Fastnet Trails group, nominated by Cllr Ross O’Connell, for the walking trails which started in 2015 with loop walks in Kilcoe and Lisheen, later extended to Ballydehob and Schull, and in recent years four linear walks now connect Kilcoe to Goleen with further expansion plans.