Tooreen man elected to top national post in Foróige

Tooreen man elected to top national post in Foróige


Michael Commins

TOOREEN man Michael Lynskey is the new chairperson of the National Executive of Foróige. He was elected by his peers at the recent annual conference held in Bloomfield House Hotel near Mullingar. Almost 200 Foróige volunteer leaders from all over the country took part in the conference with the theme Youth Ready for the Future.
Michael is the second Mayo person to be honoured with this top award in recent years. Long serving Foróige volunteer (going back to the days of Macra na Tuaithe), Billy Freeley from Irishtown, also served a term as national chairman some years ago.
Michael, who operates the popular Lynmore Mayo Kitchens and Furniture enterprise in Aghamore, has been a member of Foróige since his teenage years in Tooreen. He is also a member of a family with strong roots in Tooreen Hurling Club. Michael is married to Ann Murphy from Gortnara, Claremorris and they have a family of three.
“I’m delighted and honoured to be elected as chairperson of such a fantastic organisation. The Foróige ethos of ‘learning by doing’ opened up a whole new world to me. When I became a parent, I wanted to ensure my children could benefit as I did from Foróige, so I volunteered as a Leader in Foróige and helped re-establish the Foróige Club in Tooreen, a club which is still active to this day.”
Michael is also a volunteer leader with the FAZE Foróige Club in Knock, which boasts some 50 members.
“Foróige now works with 54,000 young people and 5,500 volunteers each year through a network of 600 clubs, 150 projects and national programmes such as Entrepreneurship, Citizenship and Leadership. Foróige now operates in every county in Ireland. In Mayo alone, we have 56 clubs and more than 1,500 members,” says Michael.
A total of 24 Foróige volunteers from Mayo were represented at the conference which celebrated the importance of volunteerism and community action in times of economic uncertainty and paid tribute to volunteers who give of their time, energy and expertise to help improve the lives of young people across the county.