The Mayo Association Dublin has opened up the submission process for the Mayo Person of the Year and its Meitheal awards. The Mayo Person of the Year has been awarded to a number of well known Mayo people over the years, including last year Ballina’s John Walkin, the well-known angling enthusiast, who played a major role in turning Ballina into the salmon capital of Ireland, and the year before Castlebar’s Michael Feeney, founder of the Mayo Peace Park.
To qualify for the Mayo Person of the Year award the person must have been born in Mayo, or of Mayo parentage, or have lived in Mayo for not less than seven years and who, in the opinion of a panel of three independent adjudicators, has made an exceptional contribution to Mayo or its people.
The Meitheal of the Year award will be presented to a voluntary group or organisation based in Mayo, whose majority of its membership were born in Mayo or of Mayo parentage and who, in the opinion of the adjudicators, have achieved the greatest distinction or done most for the county or its people.
The nomination submission should include any relevant information on the contribution of the nominee to Mayo directly and indirectly. Nominations for these awards are requested in hard copy and should be submitted by post in triplicate to the hon secretary, Mr Paul Sammin, 36 The Paddock Square, Adamstown, Co Dublin.
The deadline for submissions for both the Meitheal and Person of the Year awards is Friday December 14 (posted no later than Thursday December 13 ). Any submissions received after this date will not be eligible for consideration by the adjudicating panel. The committee and members of Mayo Association Dublin are not involved in the selection of the winners of these awards.
Each year the committee of the association selects an independent panel of three adjudicators to whom qualifying nominations are passed on to for consideration. For further information contact Mairead Kenny, PRO, at [email protected]. The winners will be announced in mid January 2015 and they will be guests of honour of the Mayo Association Dublin at their annual Mayo Person of the Year and Meitheal Award gala banquet. The 2015 awards banquet will be hosted at the Ballsbridge Hotel, Dublin 4, on Saturday February 7.
