Cathedral's community awards celebrate 'unsung heroes' of Limerick

THREE of Limerick city’s “unsung heroes” have been honoured for the work they do in the community.

Ecclesiastical decorator Randel Hodkinson, sports coach Jim McNamara, and businessman Robert Kenneally were all honoured at St Mary’s Cathedral’s annual community awards ceremony.

Each autumn, people of Limerick are invited to nominate someone who they feel has made a positive contribution to civic life in Limerick.

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Then a panel made up of Mayor John Moran, Tidy Towns chairperson Helen O’Donnell, Mary Immaculate College president, Prof Dermot Nestor and cathedral Dean Niall Sloane decide on a number of recipients.

This year, Randel was recognised for his contribution to the civic and cultural life of the city, particularly from an artistic point of view.

Jim was recognised for improving the sporting life of the city, by helping a lot of young people on their sporting journey. He is pictured above with Dean of St Mary's cathedral Niall Sloane, Helen O'Donnell and Dermot Nestor President of Mary Immaculate College.

And Robbie was commended for his volunteer work with Down Syndrome Ireland. He is photographed below with Mayor John Moran and members of his family and Down Sydrome Limerick.

Dean Sloane acknowledged this is “only the tip of the iceberg” in terms of what all three men have done.

“We were very pleased. It’s great to be able to recognise these unsung heroes of our city who quietly go about doing their work. It’s a nice way to recognise their contribution,” he said. “They are the best of what Limerick is.”

The trio were given the awards after the Choral Evensong service on Sunday, February 8.

The awards were first introduced in 2018 to mark St Mary’s Cathedral’s 800th anniversary.