Niall shortlisted for No Name awards

A South Galway teenager has outshone 2,000 others to make it to the final of a national competition, it was announced this week.
Niall Perrill from Gort No Name Club will participate in the No Name Club National Youth Awards Final in Kilkenny on Saturday. Fellow Galway teenager Shauna Naughton from Mountbellew No Name Club also made it to the final 12.
Travelling to the event to support Niall and celebrate their involvement with the national youth organisation will be over 50 teenagers and adult committee members from Gort No Name Club while 30 will make the journey from Mountbellew.
Almost 200 teenagers and adult leaders from Galway will travel to Kilkenny, with Athenry, Claregalway and Headford No Name Clubs also taking part. No Name Club teenage members are known as hosts and hostesses and Niall and Shauna were selected as the representative hostess for the Mid-West Region to compete in the national final.
At the regional final in Claregalway, County Galway on February 6, Niall and Shauna were chosen in a competition that featured representative from clubs in Galway and Roscommon.
At that event, both were interviewed on a one-to-one basis by a panel of judges, they performed a party piece in front of an audience of No Name Club teenagers and adults from the Mid-West and carried out a stage interview with the event MC. The judges then decided they were the strongest candidates to represent the region at the national final.
The final takes place this Saturday and Niall is competing against male teenagers from Finglas in Dublin, Erris in Mayo, Tubercurry in Sligo, Wexford and Waterford. Shauna is competing against female teenagers from clubs in Donegal Town, Finglas, Killarney, Ballinrobe in Mayo and Baltinglass in Wicklow for the title of Hostess of the Year.
The judges will conduct interviews with the finalists before the event on April 16 and on the night the finalists will be interviewed on stage by RTÉ journalist Damien Tiernan before performing a party piece.
The No Name Club National Youth Awards will bring 1,000 teenagers from over 40 communities across Ireland together for a night of celebration. The event is a black-tie affair and following on from a three-course meal, those attending will party the night away with a six-hour disco extravaganza. This is the 33rd year of the awards, having first been run in 1978. They recognise the excellent work No Name Club hosts and hostesses are carrying out in communities across Ireland and are an annual celebration for the clubs.
“I am delighted to have reached the final of the National Youth Awards. I feel honoured to have the opportunity to take part in such a prestigious competition, which acknowledges the fantastic work done by young people in our country. Of course, I couldn’t have done it without the help and inspiration of the other young hosts and hostesses both past and present of Gort No Name Club and other No Name Clubs around the country. What I’ve done could not have been done without the help of our adult leaders, especially Trish Beakey and Adrian Feeney,” Niall said, ahead of the awards.
Adrian Feeney, Gort No Name Club chairman, commented, “We are immensely proud that Niall, a dedicated club member, has made it to this prestigious and long-standing national final.
“He brings many skills and talents to the No Name Club and the wider community and uses them for the betterment of society. He is an excellent candidate for Host of the Year and will prove to be an excellent representative for Gort and the wider Galway community at these national awards. Gort No Name Club has been established in the community for 21 years and present and past members wish Niall the very best of luck.”
Con Nolan, No Name Club chief executive officer said, “We are an organisation of 2,000 teenage members so to make it to the final 12 of this national competition is a remarkable achievement. The awards were designed to recognise the outstanding work of our teenage members within their clubs and their communities.
The No Name Club supports teenagers in communities throughout Ireland as they run activities that bring benefits to young people and also to the wider community. This is a national celebration of teenage achievement.”