Community groups and volunteers from across County Galway were celebrated at the 2024 Cathaoirleach Community Awards held in the Clayton Hotel last Thursday night.
Organised by Galway County Council in partnership with Galway County Public Participation Network (PPN ) and hosted by Cathaoirleach Councillor Liam Carroll, the awards were announced during the annual Cathaoirleach’s Ball which this year raised much needed funds for local charities ACT for Meningitis and i4Life.
The category winners in the Cathaoirleach Community Awards were Kinvara Tidy Towns, Interface, Ballinasloe & District Heritage Society, Dr Joseph Mannion, Pleanáil Teanga Chonamara Láir, Connemara Green, Vision Arch Club, Kinvara Hockey Club and Williamstown Development Company. Each of the winners were presented with a specially commissioned award designed and hand-crafted by Craughwell-based Sean Mahony, along with a certificate and a cash prize of €500 to use for their work.
Posthumous Special Recognition Awards were also presented to the families of the late Saoirse Ruane from Kiltullagh and the late Martin Horgan from Oranmore.
MC for the evening was Ollie Turner of Galway Bay FM. Cllr. Liam Carroll, Cathaoirleach of the County of Galway stated, “These awards recognise the tireless efforts of individuals and groups who work diligently behind the scenes to strengthen our communities. On behalf of Galway County Council and the people of the County, I am delighted to be able to recognise and honour their commitment to making our local areas better places to live, work and visit.”
Liam Conneally, Chief Executive of Galway County Council said these awards provide an opportunity for Galway County Council and Galway County PPN to recognise the unique value and contribution of volunteers to our county and to acknowledge their impact on community wellbeing and quality of life, and the pride of place instilled by their activities”.
The first award of the evening was presented to Connemara-based Interface in the ‘Arts and Culture’ category recognising voluntary efforts to encourage and promote knowledge, experience and practice of arts and culture.
The ‘Best Contribution to Heritage Award’, which recognises the efforts of groups that promote the heritage of their local area, was won by Ballinasloe & District Heritage Society. The group has attracted a large following by promoting the history and heritage of Ballinasloe through a variety of initiatives, including the “The Town Talks” series.
The winner of the ‘Heritage Publication Award’, which recognises the voluntary efforts to research, record and promote the heritage of local areas, was Dr Joseph Mannion for “Anglicizing Tudor Connacht: The Expansion of English Rule in the Lordships of Clan Rickard and Hy Many”.
Pleanáil Teanga Chonamara Láir was named winner of ‘Gradam na Gaeilge’ in recognition of its work to preserve, promote and strengthen the use of the Irish language. Covering an area of 35km, the group offers a service that encourages and strengthens the Irish language to all ages in the community.
Connemara Green was named winner of the ‘Environment & Climate Action Award’, which recognises volunteers’ efforts to enhance the environment in which they live in a sustainable manner.
The winner of the ‘Social Inclusion Award’, which recognises groups or community facilities that support all people within the community to participate in social and community activities, was Vision Arch Club. The group plays a crucial role in enhancing the quality of life for young people with intellectual disabilities and their families and providing them with opportunities to be involved in community life and activities.
The winner of the ‘Sports Award’, which recognises voluntary efforts to increase the number of people participating in sport, particularly within groups with low participation rates, was Kinvara Hockey Club. The judges felt the Club showed great drive and passion, supporting everyone in their community to participate in hockey and actively reaching out to various cohorts such as girls, women, and people with disabilities.
Kinvara Tidy Towns was named winner of the ‘Tidy Towns Recognition Award’ in recognition of the group’s efforts to promote environmental awareness in their community, with a series of training and workshops on all areas of biodiversity and climate action.
There was double success for Kinvara Tidy Towns which was one of two groups to be named winner of Price of Place Awards who will represent County Galway in in the IPB National Pride of Place Competition 2024.
The other Pride of Place Award winner was Williamstown Development Company, who have been selected to represent County Galway in the ‘0-300 Population’ Award category. Williamstown has a lengthy track record of delivering community development projects including a looped 3.3km walkway on the Bog Road, which encompasses story boards and biodiversity signage detailing its important habitats for many species of animals and plants.
