Two Kildare groups are finalists in National Lottery Good Causes Awards
Two organisations from Kildare; Naas Community First Responders and Irish Peatland Conservation Council, have been named amongst the thirty-six community groups, sports clubs and organisations from all over Ireland who were today announced as finalists in the National Lottery Good Causes Awards.
The Awards honour the inspiring work and achievements of thousands of projects, clubs and individuals from all over Ireland who, with the help of National Lottery Good Causes funding, have had an extraordinary impact on their local communities. Nearly 30 cent in every €1 spent on National Lottery games goes back to Good Causes all over the country.
Naas Community First Responders are a group of local volunteers who work alongside the National Ambulance Service to respond to calls of cardiac arrest, stroke, heart attack and choking. The unit were responsible for installing three outdoor Public Access Defibrillators throughout the town. Naas CFR began as a group of 6 and have since grown to a team of 18 volunteers who save lives and provide essential training to schools and businesses alike. They will compete in the Health & Wellbeing category of the Good Causes Awards.
Irish Peatland Conservation Council are finalists in the Heritage category of the Awards. The purpose of the IPCC, a charity based at the Bog of Allen Nature Centre, is to protect a representative sample of peatland habitat for people to enjoy today and into the future. Their project ‘Enhancing Breeding Habitat for the Endangered Marsh Fritillary Butterfly on Lullymore West Bog, Co. Kildare’ focused on protecting Europe’s only endangered butterfly on the wet grassland habitat. Through the project, they trained 14 citizen scientists in butterfly monitoring and also introduced two donkeys to the site who enhanced the conservation of the Marsh Fritillary Butterfly.
The 36 winning groups will now proceed to the grand final in six categories: Sport, Health & Wellbeing, Heritage, Arts & Culture, Community and Youth. A seventh category, Irish Language, will have a special award to be announced at the Awards final, in recognition of outstanding work done in the promotion of the Irish Language.
Speaking at the announcement, the CEO of the National Lottery, Andrew Algeo, congratulated the 36 finalists who have reached this final stage of the awards process.
He said: “The Good Causes Awards allow us to shine a light on the outstanding work being done in our communities by extraordinary groups. Our aim is to recognize the exceptional contributions of our finalists and show the people of Ireland exactly what their participation and support in the National Lottery is achieving within their communities. We are all aware of how difficult the past year has been and how important sports clubs, organisations and groups are to our wellbeing. This truly is our chance to show our appreciation for keeping our communities going during such uncertain times.”
The judging of the National Finals of the Good Causes Awards will take place virtually this year on Tuesday 16th & Wednesday 17th February. At this stage, representatives from each of the 36 finalist groups will be asked to do a short presentation remotely to the judging panel and respond to any questions that may arise. The judging panel will be chaired by Lotto presenter & weather presenter, Nuala Carey. Fergus Finlay, Columnist and Author, will join the panel as an independent judge at this stage.
Fergus Finlay spoke candidly about his involvement with the Good Causes Awards: “It is such an honour to be involved in the Good Causes Awards as the event really is a unique opportunity to highlight the array of remarkable groups and organisations doing great things in communities all over the country. I am looking forward to meeting the 36 finalists and hearing about the inspirational work that they have continued to do – even during Covid times. It feels even more heartening to be involved considering the difficulties that have been faced by so many during the past year.”
Each national category winner will receive €10,000 while the overall Good Cause of the Year will get an additional €25,000 on top of this. The winners will be announced on Saturday 29th May at the Mansion House in Dublin (subject to Public health measures in place at the time). The event will alternatively take place virtually depending on the guidelines in effect.
The 36 National Lottery Good Causes Awards finalists are below.
More information on the finalists and the National Lottery Good Causes Awards can be found at www.lottery.ie/good-causes- awards/finalists
Sport
Shankill Tennis Club, Dublin
South Dublin Taekwondo, Dublin
Raphoe Community Sports Development, Donegal
Kanturk Cycling Club, Cork
Ratoath Athletics Club, Meath
Ballintubber GAA, Mayo
Health & Wellbeing
Dublin Rape Crisis Centre, Dublin
LauraLynn Ireland’s Children’s Hospice, Dublin
Children in Hospital Ireland, Dublin
Lough Ree Lanesborough Angling Hub, Roscommon
Naas Community First Responders, Kildare
East Galway & Midlands Cancer Support, Galway
Heritage
Letterkenny Cathedral Quarter, Donegal
Cork Folklore Project, Cork
Cork LGBT Archive, Cork
Kilkenny Famine Experience, Kilkenny
Wildlife Rehabilitation Ireland, Meath
Irish Peatland Conservation Council, Kildare
Arts & Culture
Children’s Books Ireland, Dublin
International Dublin Gay Theatre Festival, Dublin
Dance Theatre of Ireland, Dublin
Graffiti Theatre Company, Cork
Cyclone Rep, Cork
Baboró International Arts Festival for Children, Galway
Community
Age Action Ireland, Dublin
Immigrant Council of Ireland, Dublin
Kilbarrack Coast Community Project, Dublin
Irish Deaf Society, Dublin
Daingean GAA, Offaly
Headway Limerick, Limerick
Youth
Focus Ireland, Dublin
BeLonG To Youth Services, Dublin
Millennium Family Resource Centre, Tipperary
Autism Support Louth & Meath, Louth
The Irish Pilgrimage Trust, Galway
Blue Box Creative Learning Centre, Limerick