The 2005 winners of the Donegal County Council/REHAB “People of the Year” Awards have been announced with ten worthy recipients representing their communities throughout the length and breadth of Donegal. The awards, which are supported by the Donegal Democrat Group of newspapers, are celebrating their eleventh anniversary, and Donegal County Council and REHAB organisers were delighted with the enormous number of nominations received, the highest ever, reflecting the importance to the county of the social impact of the event.
Donegal County Council, who in 2002 assumed the mantle of primary sponsors for the awards, are particularly pleased with the quality and numbers of nominations and they see these awards as the ideal vehicle to honour those in the community who might otherwise go unrecognised.
The invaluable support and media sponsorship of the Donegal Democrat is again welcomed by NW Regional Organiser, Amanda Crawford, who says of their involvement “Without the Democrat’s invaluable support, which provides the life’s blood of publicity to reach people throughout the county, and beyond, awards such as these could not survive and we again wish to thank the Democrat, and particularly it’s Editor-in Chief, Michael Daly, for their continued support”.
This year, to emphasise the importance of the event, Rehab’s Regional Organiser, Amanda Crawford, has received support and sponsorship from a number of corporate sponsors, as well as the continued invaluable support of Donegal County Council.
The winners are:
Noelle Duddy – Culdaff.
Noelle, a tireless campaigner for cancer sufferers in the North West, many of whom have to spend long hours travelling to Dublin for treatment. She is the Chairperson of Donegal Action for Cancer Care, which she helped set up and, despite recovering from cancer herself, she has put immense time and effort into galvanising support for nearer, and better, treatment for those in the North West.
Hugo Duggan –Milford
A founder member of Milford Athletic Club, veteran Hugo has won championships too numerous to mention, is still undisputed Donegal and Ulster champion in the long jump, but it is for his coaching and encouragement of young people , firstly as coach to over one hundred young athletes in the Milford Athletic Club and his devotion to the Donegal Community Games that he was nominated and won his award.
Maxi McCreary – Killygordon.
Maxi was nominated by numerous community groups in the Killygordon/Cross area, for the work he has done throughout his life to improve the quality of life in the area and improve community relation. He has been instrumental in revitalising the two villages with the building of the Oak Tree Business Park and Community Centre, and providing support for the local playgroup, the elderly, sporting groups, churches and residents committees.
Jimmy Begley- Fanad
Jimmy has been involved in community work for a long number of years. He has been the at the forefront of every local initiative and has always given of his time freely in promoting the Fanad area, having helped to set up the Fanad Festival, the Tri-Locha Community Centre, Community Alert and Fanad Development Association to name but a few.
Kathleen Murray- Ramelton.
Kathleen is the hardworking, dedicated and devoted champion of animal welfare in Donegal. The co-founder of Donegal Pet Rescue, she and a dedicated group of fellow volunteers are to be found frequently out and about in all weathers, rescuing abused and abandoned animals. In today’s society, animal welfare isn’t considered very important to some people. Some consider that animals are objects they can mistreat at will. Kathleen has been instrumental in educating people, offering advice and assistance, showing that “kindness, not cruelty” is the best approach to overcoming the problem of abused animals.
James McLeod - Killybegs
James, though Scottish by birth, moved as a young man to Ireland, and since the 1930’s has been involved in the fishing industry in Killybegs. He has always been at the forefront of fishing development and new technology, improving the lot for the fishing community of his adopted port, Killybegs and giving of his time and knowledge, since retirement, to coaching many young fishermen with their studies to pass their skipper certification.
Mary McAuliffe -Dunfanaghy
Mary is the very epitome of “unsung hero” that the People of the Year Awards are all about, and she was nominated by various people and bodies in her local area of Dunfanaghy because of her dream of having a Community Centre there, to provide a place for the young people, and the elderly, to meet, to participate in drama, music games, etc. Her dream was realised, after many years of hard work and fundraising, and in June of 2005, the doors of the “Ozanam Community Centre” were opened, and the Centre is now a hub of activity for the area.
Sean Boyle- Lifford & Letterkenny
Sean, to quote from one of his nominations “has for over forty years been quietly and unassumingly devoting his life to sport and the community of Donegal through his involvement in various sporting bodies and activities”, these include his lifelong involvement with the GAA, through his membership of Lifford GAA Club, St.Eunan’s and in 1995 he was elected as PRO for the Donegal County Board. A founder member of Lifford and Letterkenny Athletic Club and a member and captain in 2001 of Letterkenny Golf Club. He helped found the local Credit Union in his native Lifford and was involved with the setting up of the first Rehabilitation Institute there in the late 1960’s. He has been very active with national and secondary school committees throughout his life.
Richard McCafferty- Glenties
Richard has an exceptional record of voluntary community work divning almost 40 years, not just in one particular achievement or one single activity, but in many community activities, involvements and contributions of unpaid voluntary work that was repeated many times and were of enormous benefit to the local community and beyond. Co-founder of the Community Centre Committee, Glenties Development Association, Glenties Piped TV Co-op, Glenties Community TV Channel, and Glenties Tidy Towns Committee, which have consistently won Tidy Towns Awards since 1982, including the Overall National Winner category in 1995. Glenties also won the “Entente Florale” Silver Medal in 2005, another committee Richard was deeply involved with. Producer and of numerous plays with Glenties Drama Group,, was instrumental in setting up the McGill Summer School. He has also been a major contributor to the cultural, social and sporting activities of the Glenties Comprehensive School, where he has taught for over 30 years.
Joseph Gallagher- Malin
Joe was nominated for his tremendous community work in the Malin are, for his foresight in setting up the Malin Credit Union, his concern for the environment and the aesthetic beauty of the area, his compassion in being responsible for bringing into existence the Malin St.Vincent de Paul, and his love of traditional music set up the Craobh Inish Eoghain of Comhaltas Ceoltoiri Eireann and the first Donegal County Fleadh. Hon.President of the Malin GAA Club. Deeply involved with the promotion of tourism in the Inishowen area.
The Award winners will be presented with their trophies, which are designed by Donegal silversmith, Ruth Kavanagh, at a Gala Banquet in the Mount Errigal Hotel,Letterkenny, on Saturday 1st April 2006. Over the past nine years this presentation ceremony, with the master of MC’s, Art Kavanagh delivering the testimonials, has become the premier social event of the county, and funds raised from it go towards supporting the work of REHAB in Co.Donegal, which has a RehabCare Centre in Lifford, an National Learning Centre in Letterkenny and Training Centre in Lifford and Killybegs. REHAB’S most recent innovation is the opening of two new houses, the Supported Housing Service, where 8 clients in RehabCare Lifford are now enjoying independent living, and there are many plans for further new Rehab services for people with disabilities in Donegal coming on-stream over the next few years. This can only be achieved with funding from the public at large along with statutory bodies such as the Health Executive and Fas and the work at these centres contribute to independence, equality and integration for people with disabilities, their carers and for those who are marginalized in the community.
Tickets for the evening will be available next week, and telephone enquiries may be made to the REHAB Foundation’s Regional Organiser, Amanda Crawford, at 074 -9740910 or 087-6535888.