Long-time volunteer and supporter of Greenfields Hockey Club, Catherine Moore, has been rewarded for services to the club.
Moore, who been involved with Greenfields for more than 30 years, is the County Galway winner of the 2023 Volunteers in Sport Awards.
Moore has played a big part in establishing Greenfields as the largest hockey club in Connacht with more than 350 female members, and during this time she has held many roles at the club, including PRO, secretary, and coach at all levels.
She was instrumental in welcoming women back to the club by setting up a women's senior team on which she also plays. In addition she runs many events for members, both young and old, such as fundays and club dinners helping to create community feel in the club.
Most recently Moore set up ‘Hockey 4 All’ in conjunction with the Brothers of Charity in Galway - a project which aims to give people with disabilities the opportunity to get involved in hockey, and it is the first of its kind in Connacht.
The Volunteers in Sport Awards celebrate the contributions of volunteers across the country who give their time to Irish sport and physical activity every year. Minister of State with responsibility for Sport and Physical Education Thomas Byrne is the special guest speaker at the awards, which will take place next week on March 22 at The Crowne Plaza Hotel, Blanchardstown, and hosted by sports broadcaster Gráinne McElwain.
The event will see volunteers from all 32 counties honoured for their dedication to volunteering across a variety of different sports. Guests will also include key stakeholders from the sector, and the overall outstanding achievement award will be revealed on the day.
Throughout December and January members of the public, sports clubs and governing bodies were invited by the Federation of Irish Sport in partnership with the national network of 29 Local Sports Partnerships to nominate an individual whose contribution to sport and physical activity in Ireland has made a real difference to their community, club or county. The judging panel included former GAA director General Paraic Duffy, RTÉ broadcaster Marie Crowe, and Declan Jordan, senior lecturer in Economics at UCC.
Federation of Irish Sport CEO, Mary O’Connor, says every week in Ireland more than 450,000 volunteers bring sport and physical activity to life for Ireland's communities, and it is time their hard work was recognised.
"It is therefore important we showcase the size and scale of this contribution by bringing such volunteers together today at the Volunteers in Sport Awards with attendees from every county in the country to shine a spotlight on the positive work they do for sport and physical activity.”
