Mayo town set to host Mayo Diaspora Awards this Saturday

The Mayo Irish Diaspora Awards presentation lunch will be held in the Ellison Hotel, Castlebar, on Saturday, September 13, at 1.30pm.

The awards ceremony, pioneered by Kevin Bourke from Ballyvary, has honoured numerous groups and individuals since the committee was launched several years ago. Nine awards will be presented during the lunch and ceremonies representing notable contributions by the nominees to various aspects of community life in their communities.

The Irish American Award goes to Bishop Kevin Sweeney, New Jersey, a man with strong Straide and Knockmore connections. The International Humanitarian Award will be presented to the Samali Foundation, Galway.

The Yewtree Award will be presented to Gerardine O’Mahony, Ballaghaderreen, wife of the late John O’Mahony, one of the foremost managers in Gaelic football over the years.

The Irish Foundation, London, will receive the Young Persons accolade. Sr Rosemary Connolly, RSM, Chicago, who died in July, will be honoured with a Posthumous Award for her outstanding work in Chicago down through the decades. Sr Rosemary (94) was a native of Summerhill, Ballyglass, and a close friend of the newly elected Pope Leo who was born Robert Prevost in Chicago in 1955. A street in Chicago has been named after Sr Rosemary. The award will be presented to the Mayo Abbey Community in recognition of her loyalty and fondness for her home parish over the years.

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The Hall of Fame award goes to the Ruane family, Sydney and Ballyvary. Adrian and his wife, Ciara, who now reside in Sydney, donated a plane to the Australian charity, Little Wings, earlier this year. Ciaran left Mayo for Australia in 2011 Founded by Kevin Robinson, Little Wings commenced operations in 2012 with a mission to support children undergoing cancer treatment at The Children’s Hospital in Westmead, Sydney, by providing free flight and ground transport.

Three well known Mayo people will also receive Honorary Awards at the ceremony in Castlebar on Saturday. Oisín Mullin needs little introduction to sports followers in the region. A member of the Mayo senior team before departing for Australian Rules football, Oisín comes from a well known family in the Cloghans and Kilmaine region. He currently plays with the Geelong team in Australia. Bríd O’Connell (nee Hughes) has been at the heart of community activities in Swinford for many years and is especially synonymous with the Siamsa Straide Festival that she pioneered back in the 1980s.

Kiltimagh native, Basil Burke, spent many years in Solihull near Birmingham where he established Burke Masonry, a company that won numerous prestigious contracts. These included work on the Egyptian Room at Harrods, The British Museum, Allied Irish Bank’s offices in Ruislip and Glasgow, Silverstone, the International Convention Centre, opened by Queen Elizabeth 11 in 1991.

The construction of a Chinese Pagoda in Holloway Head, the very first of its kind in Europe and work on the Bullring in Birmingham bear the hallmarks of Basil and his team. Basil has also published a series of journals, Kiltimagh Remembered, a collection of stories and photos from the Kiltimagh area. “We are looking forward to another very special occasion in the history of the Mayo Irish Diaspora Awards and it should be a very special and memorable occasion on Saturday when we present the awards to all the recipients,” said Kevin Bourke.

Tickets for the Mayo Irish Diaspora Society Awards are €50 and can be got by calling 087 2439748.

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