A number of County Sligo’s most dedicated volunteers were honoured at the annual Cathaoirleach’s Awards ceremony in County Hall on Wednesday evening.
Cathaoirleach’s Awards Ceremony 2019
Local Volunteers Honoured at Cathaoirleach’s Awards Ceremony
2019 Roll of Honour
| Category | Winner | Presented by |
|---|---|---|
| Arts & Culture | Seán Walsh | Councillor Rosaleen O’Grady |
| Young Enterprise | Conor Stinchon | Councillor Gino O’Boyle |
| Environment/Heritage | Adrian O’Neill | Councillor Chris MacManus |
| Community Group | Carney Ladies Mini Marathon Team | Councillor Marie Casserly |
| Spirit of Sligo | Innisfree Wheelers Trishaw Project | Councillor Declan Bree |
| Sports | Lucy Conlon Oates | Councillor Thomas Walsh |
| Schools | Colaiste Iascaigh Transition Year | Councillor Joe Queenan |
| Community Individual | Teresa Flaherty | Councillor Tom MacSharry |
In his address at the ceremony, the Cathaoirleach Councillor Tom MacSharry said:
‘Too seldom as a community do we take the time to formally show our appreciation for the enormous work of our dedicated community volunteers, those people who give so generously of their time, energy and expertise for the common good. Over the course of my time in public life, but particularly in my capacity as Cathaoirleach, I have been simply overwhelmed by the magnificent work carried out by our volunteers.
Inspiration
These people are an inspiration to their community across every area of voluntary endeavour, individuals and groups who have carried out exemplary work, and the evidence of their contribution can be seen all over our county.
This Awards ceremony is Sligo County Council’s opportunity to show our gratitude for this invaluable contribution. The most effective work we do as an Authority is in conjunction with the community we serve, and our engagement with voluntary groups and associations has been the backdrop to many successful projects.
Honour
It is an honour to be nominated for an award in any field of endeavour, and our guests here this evening have been put forward by people who hold them in great esteem. Our committee was genuinely impressed by the scale and quality of voluntary work being carried our around our county by individual and groups. These are the true ‘unsung heroes’ in our society who discreetly go about their business, they invariably shun the limelight, but we publicly applaud and commend them today.
Pride
In bestowing this honour to our award winners, we also recognise the trojan work delivered by countless other individuals and groups all over County Sligo, and that was very evident from the many nomination forms we received.
To our Award winners I would say, you are a great resource to your own communities, you should take great pride in the gift your work has bestowed on our society.’
The Cathaoirleach concluded his address by thanking his colleagues on the Awards Committee ‘for their work in studying the nominations and selecting the eventual winners; When you see the calibre of the people we are honouring this evening, you will agree the committee has done its job very well.