With preparations now well under way for next month’s inaugural Mayors Awards for County Galway organisors have announced the 35 community and voluntary groups short listed and in with a chance of coming up trumps in more than seven categories.
Speaking at the launch of the awards the County Mayor Cllr Michael Maher said: “I am delighted to be hosting the first ever Mayors Awards for County Galway. When I took up the office of county mayor earlier this year, one of my priorities was to acknowledge and celebrate the great work that people and communities are involved in around the county. Over the years the county council have shown their commitment to supporting communities through their various schemes.
“The awards will recognise community activity in areas such as sport, arts, environment, and energy efficiency, community enterprise, youth, age friendly, and tackling exclusion and disadvantage. Thirty eight public nominations have also been received for a special ‘Volunteer of the Year’ Award. Volunteers are a huge asset to communities and it is important that their efforts are recognised.”
Commissioning the award pieces, which are based on the sails of the Galway hooker, is Craughwell craft producer Sean Mahony. The sails are made from natural slate and the base is made from Galway stone, all of which are thousands of years old. Also speaking at the launch was county manager, Martina Maloney, who said: “As 2011 is the Year of the Craft, the county council is delighted to be supporting local craft producers and local enterprise.”
The winners will be announced at the County Mayors Awards Ceremony on November 10, 2011, in the Connemara Coast Hotel.
The nominations for the Sports Award category, which recognises groups which have focused on increasing the number of people participating in sport, are as follows: The GOYA Gang, Kinvara; Tuam/Headford Special Olympics Club; Ballinasloe GAA Club; Bearna Basketball Club; and Predator Triathlon Club.
Nominations for the Arts Award, which recognises the contribution of groups to the continuing development of arts in the city, are: Clifden Community Arts Week; Glenamaddy Theatre Festival; Glinsk Song Contest (Glinsk Community Development Society Ltd ); Baffle Poetry Group; and Cinemobile.
The Green Award recognises those who have made efforts to improve the environment around them or improve energy efficiency and the nominations are: Milltown Tidy Towns; Abbey Community Development Association; Clarinbridge Oyster Festival Committee; Comhar Caomhán Teo; and Gort Community Centre.
In recognition for the developing of enterprise initiatives in the community, and in particular contributing to employment, the nominations for the Community Enterprise category are: Ballinasloe Area Community Development Ltd (BACD Ltd ); Clonberne Community Development; Kinvara Farmers’ Market; Moylough Resource Enterprise Ltd; and South East Galway Integrated Rural Development Ltd (SE Galway IRD ).
Nominations for the Youth Support Award, which recognises the efforts of groups which support and develop the potential of young people, are: Clann Family Resource Centre; His & Hers Recreational Group; Sign Out Youth Cafe; shOUT LGBT Youth Group; and Youth Work Ireland.
In the Age Friendly Award category, which celebrates the work of groups which have made efforts to support older people participate in their community and increase their quality of life, are: Portumna Active Retirement Association; Eyrecourt/Meelick/Clonfort Active Retirement Association; BRB Senior Citizens Group; Annaghdown/Corrandulla Active Retired Group; and Duniry and District Active Retired Group.
The Community Group Award nominations, which includes groups that work to support people in the general community or those experiencing disadvantage or exclusion, are: Home-Start Athenry; Leabharlann na gCairde; Western Traveller & Intercultural Development; Clann Family Resource Centre; and Paving the Way. There were 38 nominations for the Volunteer of the Year Award which includes individuals who do tremendous work throughout the county of Galway; for a full list of nominations and for further information go to www.galway.ie
