John Maughan and the late P J Hennelly named among recipients
23 October 1996
"MAYO PEOPLE OF THE YEAR" AWARD WINNERS ANNOUNCED
THE recipients of the fourth annual "Mayo People of the Year" awards were announced at a press briefing at the Red Door Restaurant, Ballinrobe.Those chosen for the accolades are to be honoured for their achievements in their respective fields. In all nine awards will be presented, including special trophies to two overseas nominations who have done so much good work in their adopted countries.
The presentation ceremony will be the highlight of a gala banquet in the Failte Suite of the Welcome Inn Hotel, Castlebar on Friday night November 15.
The special guest for the evening will be Lord Mayor of Birmingham, Marian Arnott-Job, whose roots are in Swinford. All the profits from the occasion will go towards meeting the running costs of the Rehab workshop in Castlebar where sixty people receive special training to enable them enter the workforce.
Among the attendance were the chairman of Mayo County Council, Mr Pat McHugh; Monsignor Tom Shannon, Ballinrobe, councillor Michael Bourke and Mr John Walkin, chairman of the Western regional Tourism Authority.
Mr Tom Gillespie, chairman of the Awards Committee said there were many Mayo people and groups whose contributions often escaped unheralded, without the recognition they deserved.
The concept behind the organising of the project was to rectify that omission and to acknowledge in a public manner the unsparing service given by so many Mayo people in so many ways of life.
Mr Gillespie, who is editor of the Connaught Telegraph said: "We, Rehab, the Connaught Telegraph and AIB Bank, are delighted to be associated with this worthy project.
"And it pleases us all the more to know that profits from the function will go to a very deserving cause, the development of Rehab services in Mayo."
Mr Gillespie said they were deeply indebted to the panel of national adjudicators who were faced with making the difficult decisions in selecting the winners.
"The adjudicators have expressed their delight with the calibre of the nominations received. Their only regret is that all of the submissions could not be favoured with an award."
He thanked all those who took the trouble to nominate individuals and groups for the various awards. He had a particular word of thanks for the sponsors of the nine awards, magnificent pieces of Skellig Crystal crafted by Rehab trainees.
The winners were announced by Stephen Connolly of the Connaught Telegraph, Mary Murphy, chairperson of the Mayo Rehab and Catherine Clancy, AIB Bank manager, Ballinrobe.
Mayo County Council chairman Mr Pat McHugh said he had been associated with Rehab on a number of occasions since taking up office and he was delighted to lend any support he could to this very worthy organization.
He said; "It is fitting and proper that the very many people throughout the county who give so much of their time and energy and effort should be rewarded in some public way.
"The people who receive these awards are just the tip of the iceberg because there are so many other people throughout the county, throughout the country who do so much wonderful voluntary work for Rehab.
"But Rehab in return gives a tremendous service back to the people and particularly to the people they are helping who are less fortunate then ourselves."
Mr McHugh said he had the pleasure recently of visiting the Rehab workshop in Castlebar and viewing the facilities there.
He congratulated both AIB Bank and the Connaught Telegraph for having the initiative in putting so much time, energy and finance into these awards.
He continued: "One of the good things about these awards is that they are spread throughout the county and everything is not centred in Castlebar."
He said they were launched in Carne in Belmullet, the announcement of the finalists were made in Ballinrobe and the presentation ceremony will take place in Castlebar
In particular, he said, he looked forward to meeting the Lord Mayor of Birmingham who would be guest of honour on the night.
THE 1996 MAYO AWARD WINNERS ARE:
Brenda McNicholas, Kiltimagh for her involvement in the Communities Under Threat campaign.John Maughan and the Mayo GAA Team for their outstanding achievement this year.
The late P.J. Hennelly, Manulla, Castlebar: A posthumous award for his unselfish efforts at community level in Castlebar and distict.
Erris Tourism, for its wide range of achievements in developing Erris as a tourist attraction.
P.J. Murphy, Ballyglass, Claremorris for his pioneering role in developing and promoting mental health awareness.
Sr. Ailbe Coyne, Claremorris for her total dedication to community service during her 50 years in the Convent of Mercy, Claremorris.
Mary Healy, Swinford for her pioneering role in establishing the Mayo branch of the Arthritis Foundation of Ireland.
OVERSEAS AWARDS:
Sr. Rosemary Connelly, Chicago for her life long commitment to the care of children with mental disabilities.
Brother Joseph McNally, Singapore for the prominent part he has
played in the educational and artistic life of his adopted city.
Connaught Telegraph - News - October 1996
Connaught Telegraph - Sport - October 1996
