Mayo woman wins Excellence in Charity Leadership Award at this year’s Charity Excellence Awards
Martina Jennings, CEO of Mayo Roscommon Hospice Foundation, has won the Excellence in Charity Leadership Award at this year’s Charity Excellence Awards, with judges commenting that “a leader like this is not born every day”.
Jennings was selected from a shortlist of eight CEOs, with Mayo Roscommon Hospice Foundation the only regional charity represented in the category.
The award was presented at a ceremony at the Mansion House last night (Thursday), celebrating the individuals and organisations making an outstanding contribution to Ireland’s charity sector.
Hosted by the Charities Institute of Ireland, the Charity Excellence Awards recognise achievement across a range of areas, including leadership, governance, fundraising, finance, supporter engagement, innovation and collaboration.
Paul Foxe, Chairman of Mayo Roscommon Hospice Foundation, said:
“We were overjoyed and immensely proud that Martina has won the Excellence in Charity Leadership Award. Her exceptional leadership over the past nine years has brought the Foundation from strength to strength. Martina is hugely committed to the organisation, its people and the families we support, and this award is very well deserved. We are all incredibly proud of her.”
Martina Jennings, CEO of Mayo Roscommon Hospice Foundation, said: “I was thrilled to have been shortlisted for the Excellence in Charity Leadership Award, but to win is truly special.
No one achieves anything on their own. I am blessed to be guided by an incredible voluntary Board and to work alongside a fantastic, committed team who support me and the work of the Foundation every day. I inherited an already impressive organisation nine years ago. My role is to leave it in an even better place.
It’s a big year for Mayo Roscommon Hospice Foundation as we turn the sod on our third hospice and the first children’s hospice in the West of Ireland, Sunflower Children’s Hospice, next week. It will serve children and their families across eight counties, from Donegal to Limerick.
Thank you to the Charities Institute, the judges and the sponsors for a wonderful evening. I want to dedicate this award to all of the families we have supported over the years.”
This is Jenningsourth accolade, having previously been named Mayo’s Most Inspirational Woman in 2015 and Mayo Person of the Year in 2020, before receiving the IMAGE PwC Businesswoman of the Year Award in 2024.