Galway Bay FM Newsroom - The work of the Galway community during the Covid-19 pandemic has been recognised at an awards ceremony held at the Sheraton Hotel in Athlone hosted by Minister of Rural and Community Development Heather Humphreys.
From March to July 2020, a COVID-19 ‘Community Outreach’ initiative sought to respond to the societal impact of the pandemic.
Coordinated by The Wheel and Irish Rural Link, with the support of the Department for Rural and Community Development, a network of county community champions were at the heart of Ireland’s local pandemic response.
Six Community Champions were recognised from all over the country with three of them from Galway.
First recognised by the Minister was Steve Dolan, CEO of Galway Rural Development, who co-ordinated the county's response in the early months of the pandemic.
His colleague in the city, Brendan Mulry of Equal Ireland, was next; while Niamh Nolan from Castleblakeney was also recognised for her work as Roscommon community champion.
Steve Dolan thanked the community groups across Galway. “I said at the time that Galway was the benchmark for every other county in terms of activity. It seems a world away now, however every day Volunteers were out there delivering groceries and medication, checking-in on the isolated, providing meals on wheels, and so much more. It was remarkable.”
“From the pandemic to the Ukrainian community response, it is the volunteers and community groups who do the heavy lifting. This award is recognition for those Volunteers across the county who make communities ‘tick’. Despite the obstacles, Galway always comes out top in terms of community work and the award is a small recognition of the extraordinary work done.”
Across Ireland, some 14,877 local organisations were mobilised by the community champions during the pandemic and 36,821 different volunteers were involved.
In total, 134,811 people were reached through the initiative.
The awards were given at the thirtieth anniversary conference of Irish Rural Link with Dr Maura Farrell of NUIG one of the keynote speakers on the day.
