THE Clare Champion’s coverage of Community Games activities was recognised at the national annual general meeting which was held in Westport in Mayo at the weekend.
In the Provincial media section, the Clare Champion captured third prize. Sports editor, Seamus Hayes received the award from the organisation’s president, Gerry Davenport.
The public relations officer of the Clare organisation, Mary Phelan from Sixmilebridge received an award for her work in that role.
Over 200 volunteers descended on the Mayo town where keynote speaker, Kieran Mulvey, chairperson of the Irish Sports Council, praised the HSE Community Games for being a “nursery of sporting talent” in Ireland today.
“The HSE Community Games is a shining star in Ireland today and the Irish Sports Council are proud to be associated with this nursery of sporting talent. This year, the HSE Community Games received funding of €260,000 from the ISC (Irish Sports Council) and €25,000 from Women in Sport and we consider this to be money well spent considering what the volunteers give back to our communities in terms of time and commitment, promoting a healthy and active lifestyle and ensuring a brighter future for our children,” he said.
Meanwhile, the National Camogie Association, this week, named the Clare Champion as the provincial newspaper of the year for camogie coverage.
At a function in Croke Park on this Sunday evening, the Mick Dunne memorial awards will be presented to the winners in the association’s annual media awards ceremony.
This is the eight year of the camogie association awards incorporating the Mick Dunne Memorial awards. Mick Dunne made an outstanding contribution to the coverage of Gaelic Games, particularly camogie. He gave the game extensive coverage in print as well as on radio and television.
The awards honour the contributions of local and national press and volunteers to the promotion and development of camogie.
The Clare camogie board will be presented with the award for social media and officials of the board including their hard working PRO, Brid McNamara, winner of the PRO award for the past two years, will be in attendance.
The awards ceremony will take place following the All-Ireland club finals where Ballyhale from Kilkenny will face Lismore from Waterford for the intermediate title at 1.15 with Milford (Cork) taking on Ardrahan from Galway.
A native of Ennis, Colin McGann has been editor of The Clare Champion since August 2020. Former editor of The Clare People, he is a journalism and communications graduate of Dublin Institute of Technology.