Young heroes to be honoured at awards ceremony
Now the actions of some of West Cork’s most selfless young people are to be highlighted at a popular awards ceremony.
The 17th annual West Cork Garda Youth Awards, which last year attracted a record 130 nominations, have just been launched.
Nominations are already pouring in for the awards, which celebrate the outstanding works of young people between the ages of 14 and 21 years and which will take place on Nov 23.
The awards are organised in association with SuperValu and have been running in the West Cork region since they were first initiated in 1995 by Garda James O Mahony, juvenile liaison officer in Bandon.
“Basically this is about West Cork Gardaí and SuperValu recognising that an awful lot of good work is being done by young people in every community in West Cork,” said awards spokesman Garda Damian White.
He explained awards would be considered for nominated young people who by their actions, made their communities a better place to live in.
The awards not only acknowledged the many positive actions carried out by the region’s young people, he said, but also helped nurture a stronger community spirit and contributed to increased goodwill towards the gardaí.
Last year saw teenager Joanne O’Riordan — who later went on to address the United Nations — win a special achievement award.
“The nomination process is open to everyone, so if you know of a young person who is committed to making a difference in their community, please put them forward. Every nominee will receive a certificate, even if they do not win an award,” Garda White said.
The 12 awards comprise five overall awards, five district awards, one group award and one special achievement award.
* Application forms are now available from any SuperValu in the West Cork Garda Division, and also at Garda stations in West Cork. They will also be distributed by the community gardaí in each local Garda district.
