Gort pupils clean up at Mayor’s Awards

THE hard work of the staff and pupils of Gort Community School was rewarded last Thursday when they won the Environment Award at this year’s County Mayor’s Awards.

 

The school currently has three Green Flags and is working towards securing a fourth. They have recently installed a new rainwater harvesting system and six solar panels and the pupils are involved in many environmental projects, including helping out with Tidy Towns activities.

Over 250 people from community and voluntary groups from all around County Galway gathered at the County Mayor’s Awards Ceremony in the Lough Rea Hotel and Spa. The awards recognise and celebrate community and voluntary activity around County Galway. Eleven awards were up for grabs after a public call for nominations was made in September.

“This was a wonderful boost for the school and for the students,” said teacher Anna Casey Donoghue.

“As well as recognising all the hard work undertaken by the students, it is also a great encouragement for the students to tackle the ongoing work of litter management and recycling.

“Last week we held a sale of revision books and we did great out of it, making €100 and we are having a parent-teacher meeting on Thursday night and will have a lot of second-hand uniforms available to buy. As well as reusing things that might otherwise be thrown out, school uniforms are expensive to buy, as are books, so this is something positive for parents too given the economic climate,” she continued.
Ms Casey Donoghue paid tribute to the Green Schools Committee, who work hard with their peers on litter reduction, waste management, energy and water conservation activities.

The Dolmen Centre in Kinvara won the Social Inclusion Award. The centre gives people with an intellectual disability a chance to explore their creative side. They make crafts to sell at the Kinvara farmers’ market. This has helped them to learn new skills and compete on an equal footing with the other stalls in the market. The Dolmen Centre was also shortlisted in the heritage publication category, alongside the Gort Family Resource Centre.

The final award and highlight of the night was the prestigious Volunteer of the Year Award. Introducing the award, the county manager Martina Moloney praised the work of all volunteers around the county stating, “The fruits of your efforts can be seen in the recent success in competitions such as the National Tidy Towns and Pride of Place competitions”.

After a tense build-up of clues about the person, Ms Moloney revealed the winner as John Martin Griffin from Ballymoe. Mr Griffin works tirelessly in the Ballymoe area and, according to his nominator, is a “renewal of hope in a small rural community”. He pioneered the opening of a Heritage Store, which also won the Community Enterprise Award and he volunteers much of his time to work in it. He is secretary of the Ballymoe Development Company and a board member of Glenamaddy Credit Union. He co-ordinated the Ballymoe Town Twinning with Boystown, Nebraska in the US and was a key player in developing a four-year plan for the Fr Flanagan Community Centre.

He is now helping to organise a festival for the Gathering 2013 and also volunteers his time with the writers’ group, drama group, gives farm talks, computer training and helps with summer camps and indoor soccer.

The Corporate Social Responsibility Award was won by Electronics Concepts Ltd in Oughterard, recognising its contribution to community groups, especially sporting groups.

The Community Enterprise Award went to Boystown Heritage Store in Ballymoe. Boystown Heritage Store was opened with the idea of bringing back old-style local shopping to resist the decline of a small rural community. It is staffed by volunteers and they are hoping the award will help drive their motivation to expand the enterprise.

The room erupted when Johnny Coen took to the stage to introduce the Sports Award. Mr Coen is a member of the Galway senior hurling team and is the 2012 GPA Young Hurler of the Year.

The award was won by Athenry Community Games for their efforts to increase the number of young people taking part in sport. They organise annual Community Games and parish sports with over 1,200 young people involved in 2012 in 20 different sports.

They were recent winners in the All-Ireland Community Games and they also received the Best Area Award in the 2012 Galway Community Games.

Portumna Arts Group took the Arts and Culture Award. In 2012, they organised their annual Shorelines Festival, took park in Culture Night and the Galway Cuirt Festival and held poetry workshops in Portumna Castle.

Glinsk 100, a sub-committee of Glinsk Community Development Society, won the Heritage Publication Award for their work in researching and recording a century in the life of the Glinsk Community (1912-2012).

The Schools Contribution to Heritage Award was the next contested award. The award, won by St Augustine’s National School in Clontuskert, recognising the efforts that schools have made to celebrate and promote the heritage of their area.

Clifden 2012 took home the coveted Best Contribution to Heritage Award. Clifden 2012 is a year-long celebration of the 200th anniversary of the town of Clifden.

The Intergenerational Award went to Clann Family Resource Centre in Oughterard for their efforts to organise intergenerational activities between younger and older generations. “Lets Trade Stories” and a Community Garden were two of their flagship activities during the year.

Speaking about his experience since taking up the office of county mayor, Councillor Thomas Welby stated, “Nothing prepared me for the level and quality of community work that is being undertaken by individuals and groups throughout the county and this office has allowed me to see it first hand”.

After the ceremony, the mayor paid tribute to all the winning people, groups and organisations, adding, “I know it’s a cliché but you are all winners tonight and I urge you all to keep up the good work”.