The
awards celebrate the contributions of the 450,000 volunteers who give their
time to Irish sport every year
Judges
include journalist and activist, Joanne O’ Riordan and former Irish rugby
international, Trevor Ringland;
The
deadline for nominations is Friday, 27 September
Former GAA Director General, Mr Páraic Duffy has
today been confirmed as one of 12 individuals appointed to the judging panel of
the Volunteer in Sport Awards, taking place on Tuesday, 12 November.
The Volunteer in Sport Awards, hosted by the
Federation of Irish Sport, in partnership with EBS, will see volunteers from
all 32 counties recognised for their outstanding contributions to sport in
their county. The Awards will also
select a national ‘Team of Volunteers’ award and a ‘Lifetime’ award to honour a
volunteer who has consistently given of their time for a sport, team or event
over many years.
A judging panel in touch with local communities
Mr Duffy served as Director General of the GAA
between 2008 and 2018. He also chaired a
number of senior committees within the GAA, including the Coaching and Games
Development Committee, and is a former selector for the Monaghan Senior County
football team. He will be joined on the
judging panel by:
Joanne O’
Riordan, Irish Times sports journalist and activist;
Maura
Farrell, NUIG Lecturer;
Trevor
Ringland, Former Rugby International;
Keith
Kelly, Jumpers for Goalposts;
Benny
Cullen, Sport Ireland;
Shane
O'Connor, Olympic Athletes Commission;
Nina
Arwitz, CEO Volunteer Ireland;
Jimmy
Deenihan, Minister of State for Diaspora Affairs;
Des
Fitzgerald, CEO EBS;
Michelle
Dwyer, EBS;
Mary Nolan
Hickey, Volunteer Fundraiser for RNLI
Deadline
for nominations fast approaching
Over 450,000 volunteers give their time to Irish
sport each year. This equates to
approximately 37.3 million hours of volunteering across Ireland’s 14,000
registered sports clubs and associations.
Members of the public are invited to nominate an
individual whose contributions to sport have made a real difference to their
community, club or county. Nominations
can be made by individuals, clubs or sports associations via an online
application form at www.volunteerinsport.ie.
The deadline for applications is Friday, 27 September, 2019.
Previous
Lifetime Award winners
The awards were originally founded in 2007 to
recognise coaches, managers, officials and administrators who give their time
to grow and develop amateur sports. This
year sees them return for the first time since 2014.
Previous winners of the Lifetime Award include, Liam
Sheedy, former player and current Tipperary All Ireland Champion Hurling
Manager, Darren O’Neill, youth coach and Olympic Boxer and Peggy Mason who has
been a Special Olympics Volunteer since 1985.
Speaking
about the announcement, Mary O’Connor, CEO of the Federation of Irish Sport
said;
“We are delighted to confirm our judging panel for
the 2019 Volunteer in Sport Awards. Our
judges are drawn from a diverse breadth of backgrounds including sports
administration, the not-for-profit sector, and former elite athletes, amongst
others. Their different backgrounds and
expertise are a perfect reflection of the very diverse make-up of our sporting
community and the many roles it fulfils in Irish society. All have witnessed the critical role played
by volunteers in enabling Irish grassroots sport to take place each week and
can speak to the many benefits they bring to communities up and down the
country.
“The deadline for nominations is fast approaching so
we would call on individuals, clubs and sports associations to submit their
nominations via the Volunteerinsport.ie website by Friday, 27 September.”
Also
commenting, Páraic Duffy, former GAA Director General said:
“I am pleased to be involved in this special event
that is the 2019 Volunteer in Sport Awards.
I have been involved in volunteer sports organisations all my life and
have seen first-hand how indispensable these volunteers are to their
communities. The Awards give us the opportunity to celebrate their
contributions and highlight the integral role they play in sport and wider society.”
