Nominations sought for 6th Roscommon/ Longford Garda Youth Awards

Nominations are being sought for the Sixth annual Roscommon / Longford Garda Youth Awards, in association with Longford and Roscommon County Councils who are sponsoring the initiative again this year.

The Roscommon / Longford Garda Youth Awards celebrate outstanding young people between the ages of 13 and 21 years. An Garda Síochána, Roscommon/Longford, in conjunction with Longford and Roscommon County Councils recognise that a lot of good work is being done by young people in every community in these two counties.

The nomination process is now open and An Garda Síochána in Longford and Roscommon are inviting the public to nominate a young person or group of young people they know, who were committed to making a difference to their Community during the last year.

Chairperson of the Roscommon / Longford Youth Awards Inspector David Cryan commented that the Garda Youth Awards celebrates outstanding young people and recognises the good work being done by these individuals,

“Having been involved in the Awards for the last four years, I never cease to be amazed and inspired by the resilience displayed by the young people of Counties Roscommon and Longford who strive to make the lives of people in their local Communities better despite often dealing with personal adversity themselves. Roscommon/Longford winners have also been successful winning National Awards each year and I would encourage members of the public to nominate someone whom they know in their locality.”

Nominations can be made under any of the 4 categories:

Individual Award – Making a positive contribution to their Community, making it a better place to live in.

Group Award – Two or more young people making a positive contribution to their Community, making it a better place to live.

Special Achievement Award – Overcome difficult circumstances, defied all the odds and whose commitment deserves recognition.

Community Safety Award – Through a crime prevention or safety initiative/innovation, have made their Community a safer place to live in.

Last year, Alana Coughlan of Legan, was the worthy winner of the ‘Individual’ category. Alana gives up her time freely and dedicates this time between Community Games, the Bea Masterson Drama Group, the Darkness into Light annual walk and also helping to promote Youth Suicide Prevention.

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Winners of the ‘Group’ category in 2023 went to Granard Youth Club. This group of outstanding young people organised a 5K walk to help raise much needed funds for the refugees fleeing the Ukrainian War. Over €3,500 was collected and this group demonstrated the value of Community.

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A ‘Special Recognition Award’ was presented to Oran Hourican who attends Moyne Community School, Longford. Oran is a shining light in his local community through his charity fundraising and helping others, all while dealing with his own personal challenges. Oran was born with cerebral palsy and has required frequent hospitalisation and has received treatment in the US and is part of an advocacy group trying to get the same medical services available here in Ireland.

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Gardaí will be distributing nomination forms to schools, youth groups and voluntary organisations right across the counties of Longford and Roscommon via email in the coming weeks. These forms may also be requested from Roscommon.GardaYouth Awards@garda.ie or may be downloaded on the Garda website and also from the Longford and Roscommon Local Authority websites.

Nomination Forms can be emailed to Roscommon. GardaYouthAwards@garda.ie or can be posted to The Community Policing Unit, Boyle Garda Station, Co. Roscommon. All nominations must be received by 5pm on Friday, June 21, 2024.

MAIN PHOTO CAPTION: At the launch of the sixth Roscommon / Longford Garda Youth Awards were l to r; Roscommon County Council Chief Executive Shane Tiernan; Superintendent John Fitzgerald, Roscommon District; Inspector Paddy McGirl, Longford District; Ms. Janine Bartley, Community Safety Coordinator, Longford County Council; Chief Superintendent Ray McMahon, Roscommon/Longford Division; Inspector David Cryan, Chairperson of the Roscommon/Longford Youth Awards.

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