Nicola Lalor to be awarded at next week's Volunteers in Sport Awards!

Community Games volunteer, Nicola Lalor (Shinrone-Coolderry Community Games) will receive nationwide recognition next week for her dedication to sport, as she has been awarded the Offaly award for the 2021 Federation of Irish Sport Volunteers in Sport Awards, proudly supported by EBS.
 
The awards will take place virtually on December 7th, 8th and 9th and will see Nicola, along with volunteers from across the country, honoured for their amazing dedication to volunteering across a variety of different sports.
 
Nicola has dedicated 27 years to the Community Games in her area. She has introduced children from across the Shinrone and Coolderry areas to a host of different sports and activities that they can take part in other than the traditional sports. Throughout her time, she has ensured every single child has been offered equal opportunity to engage in the various sports and cultural activities with emphasis placed on the importance of sportsmanship, enjoyment, confidence, developing friendships and creating lasting memories. Nicola dedicates hours of her time into being a teacher, trainer, mentor, costumes and wardrobe organiser and - especially during the last 18 months - an IT expert, to ensure the Community Games experience is a fun and enjoyable one for all involved.
 
The Volunteers in Sport Awards celebrate the contributions of the band of volunteers across the country who give their time to Irish sport and physical activity every year. This equates to approximately 37.3 million hours of volunteering across Ireland’s 13,000 registered sports clubs and associations and, according to Sport Ireland's 2021 'Researching the Value of Sport in Ireland' report, is worth an estimated €1.5bn to the exchequer.
 
Throughout September and October members of the public, sports clubs and governing bodies were invited to nominate an individual whose contribution to sport and physical activity in Ireland has made a real difference to their community, club or county. The nominations and award recipients were selected by a judging panel consisting of 12 individuals drawn from sports administration, the volunteer community and media, and included former Director General of the GAA, Paraic Duffy, RTÉ broadcaster, Marie Crowe and CEO of Gaisce, Yvonne McKenna.
 
In addition to the 32 county-level award winners, Amina Moustafa, a volunteer across many different sports including football, basketball and swimming, received the overall Outstanding Achievement Award for her incredible service to the promotion of sport amongst women of diverse ethnic backgrounds, as well as her continued support of Sport Against Racism Ireland (SARI).
 
Máire Allen and Jacqueline McCormack have also received a Special Recognition Award for their amazing work with Roscommon Special Olympics Club. They have dedicated their time tirelessly over the last number of years and more recently, in the face of the challenging circumstances caused by Covid-19, did everything to ensure the club’s members remained fit and active throughout the various lockdowns.
 
Pádraic Kearney (RIP) has been honoured with a Special Recognition Award for his commitment to Gaelic Games in Adare GAA Club (Limerick). Pádraic was incredibly committed to his community, with his volunteerism going far beyond sport. His untimely passing earlier this year has been felt by everyone in the club, especially the younger members, who Pádraic coached for many years. 
 
Commenting on the awards, Minister of State for Sport and the Gaeltacht, Jack Chambers, TD, said: “It is an honour for me to support this year’s Volunteers in Sport Awards and help recognise so many fantastic volunteers in our community. These awards have a special place in the sporting calendar as they recognise those who have given an incredible amount of time throughout the year who have ensured that sport can takes place in our communities, and they do so without the expectation of gratitude or reward. The amount of hard work and dedication that these volunteers give to sport in Ireland is quite truly astonishing and I am privileged to support both the volunteers and these awards.  I would also like to thank the Federation of Irish Sport and EBS, and all who will help make these virtual ceremonies a memorable occasion for all.”
 
Speaking about the awards, CEO of the Federation of Irish Sport, Mary O’Connor said: “Despite another very challenging year for sport, we have once again seen how important volunteering has been to communities across Ireland. We have an enormous amount of gratitude for the army of volunteers who have ensured that sport could take place in a safe and controlled manner. Whether it be on pitches, courts, tracks, pools or even community halls across the country, the volunteers are always there to make sure sport and physical activity continues to take place around Ireland. It gives me immense pride to be able to recognise so many of these volunteers at next week’s virtual Volunteers in Sport Awards and I would like to extend my warmest congratulations to all of this year’s recipients. I would like to also thank EBS for their continued support in bringing wider recognition of volunteers in sport in Ireland to life. I would also like to express my gratitude to Minister Jack Chambers who will be taking the time out of his schedule to attend our virtual ceremonies next week and helping us to champion and celebrate the recipients.”
 
Managing Director of EBS, Paul Butler, commented: “EBS is delighted to partner with the Federation of Irish Sport once more to honour and recognise the everyday heroes around Ireland who make sure sport happens every day. EBS has been involved in local communities around Ireland for over 80 years and we are delighted to showcase the tremendous work these volunteers do for sport throughout their communities.  These volunteers truly are the backbone of Irish sport, and we are proud to support them. I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate all the recipients of the 2021 Volunteers in Sports Awards and thank them for all of the tireless work they do to ensure sport in Ireland continues to flourish.”


The awards will be streamed live each evening from 7pm on the Federation of Irish Sport’s Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/federationofirishsport/ with the awards schedule listed below:

• Tuesday, December 7th: Leinster and Special Recognition Award
• Wednesday, December 8th: Munster, Connacht and Special Recognition Award
• Thursday, December 9th: Ulster and Outstanding Achievement Award

 
For more information on the awards, visit http://www.volunteersinsport.ie/

Full list of winners for the 2021 Federation of Irish Sport Volunteer in Sport awards proudly supported by EBS:
 
Antrim
Frank Stevens
Swimming
Leander ASC

Armagh
James Daly
GAA
Silverbridge GFC

Carlow
Vinnie Homan 
Basketball
Carlow Basketball Club

Cavan
Sean Smith
GAA
Crosserlough GFC

Clare
Deirdre Coleman
Athletics
Derg AC

Cork
Marie Clancy
Camogie
St. Catherines GAA & Camogie Club

Derry
Geoffrey Bones
Rowing
Bann Rowing Club

Donegal
Frank McGhee
GAA
CLG Ard an Ratha

Down
Donna Mullan
Camogie
Darragh Cross

Dublin
Julie Conroy
Baton Twirling
Northern Star Twirlers

Fermanagh
Stephen Hetherington
Rugby 
Clogher Valley RFC

Galway (Joint winners)
Katie Coughlan
Evelyn Burke
Basketball
Titans Basketball Club

Kerry
Anne Scanlon
Basketball
St. Joseph’s Basketball Club

Kildare
Dilys Lindsay
Horse Riding (RDAI)
Riding for the Disabled Association of Ireland (RDAI)

Kilkenny
May Hutt
Athletics
Kilkenny City Harriers A.C.

Laois
Maggie Murphy
Ladies Gaelic Football
Timahoe Ladies Football Club

Leitrim
Eamonn McGowan
GAA
Allen Gaels

Limerick
Denis Martin
GAA
Staker Wallace GAA

Longford
Liam Forde
Ladies Football
St Helens Ladies GFC

Louth
Peter Callan
GAA
Naomh Fionnbarra & St. Anne's GFG

Mayo
Peter Mullen
Boxing
St Anne's Boxing Club

Meath
Brian Matthews
Soccer
Balrath Girls & Boys Football Club

Monaghan
Brendan Lillis
Gymnastics
Border Bounce Gymnastics Club 

Offaly
Nicola Lalor
Community Games
Shinrone Coolderry Community Games

Roscommon
Joe Moore
GAA
St. Aidan's GAA

Sligo
Veronica Hunter
Surf Lifesaving
Sligo Surf Lifesaving Club

Tipperary
Pat Hennessey
GAA
Toomevara GAA Club

Tyrone
Damian Mór Ó Néill
GAA Hurling
Naomh Colum Cille

Waterford
Tricia McCarthy
Camogie
Cappoquin Camogie Club

Westmeath
Karen Goldrick
Camogie
Ringtown Camogie Club

Wexford
Pat Furlong
Para Athletics
IWA Sport

Wicklow
Ed Randolph
Basketball
Dublin Raiders Basketball Club

Outstanding Achievement Award
Amina Moustafa
Multi Sports
Diverse City FC Club

Special Recognition Award
Pádraic Kearney (RIP)
GAA
Adare GAA

Team Recognition Award
Jacqueline McCormack
Máire Allen
Special Olympics
Roscommon Special Olympics Club