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RADIO Kerry has announced the eight groups and individuals who have been recognised as the Fexco Kerry Heroes of 2020.
Each award recipient will receive a specially created 2020 award of a handcrafted crafted vase sponsored by Louis Mulcahy Pottery/Potadóireacht na Caolóige, Clogher, Ballyferriter. The following are the recipients…
Kerry COVID-19 Community Response Forum – The Kerry Community Response Team was made up of many statutory, community and voluntary groups across the county – and co-ordinated Kerry’s response to COVID.
They put a helpline in place for those with concerns and gave regular updates on what services and supports were available. They were also responsible for co-ordinating many of the food deliveries to vulnerable people during lockdowns.
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Skellig Family Fáilte Group, nominated by Ann Landers. When Covid19 and lockdown struck last March, some 125 asylum seekers were moved from their accommodation in Dublin and moved to Cahersiveen, as part of an emergency response.
The Fáilte Group was set up to welcome the new residents, and when some of them developed COVID-19 and had to isolate, the group brought them much needed supplies of food, clothing, toys and their solidarity and support.
Michael Griffin from Killorglin, nominated by his son, Ted. Ted is a wheelchair user and despite his father Michael’s own health challenges – radiotherapy has left him (Michael) with a trach pipe and voice valve- he has helped give Ted his independence.
Ted has limited dexterity in his fingers and his dad is always finding ways to make things easier for him, so much so that Ted calls him MacGyver! Ted says Michael is ‘my hands, my legs, and at times my head too. He is my inspiration and hero.”
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Garda Mary Gardiner of the Tralee Community Policing Unit nominated by Sgt Eileen O’Sullivan and Maria McMahon. She has fostered an atmosphere of generosity and goodwill in the community through her social media lip sync and dancing videos to raise funds for charities for seriously ill children. Garda Gardiner has also organised a toy appeal for families in need around Kerry.
9-year-old Caoilinn Harte from Kilmorna, Listowel. Nominated by her mother Liz Twomey Harte and by her uncle Michael Twomey. Caoilinn’s response to the pandemic was to spring into action making and sending cards to people in order to spread cheer and goodwill.
She donated her hair to the Little Princess Trust and she has helped raise thousands for Kerry Parents and Friends. Kerry Parents and Friends is close to her heart as her beloved uncle and godfather Edward avails of the organisation’s services in Listowel. She also donated toys to the toy appeal organised by Tralee Gardaí.
Kitty McElligott of Pulleen, Tarbert. Nominated by Patrick Lynch and Deirdre Finucane. Kitty, who’s in her 80s, has always been a powerhouse to the people of Tarbert and Ballylongford, and lockdown has not deterred her.
Among her initiatives has been to raise funds for a bereaved family, she’s volunteered for Ard Chúram Day Centre in Listowel, fundraised for Alzheimer’s respite day care services, has helped at the Good Friday Soup Kitchen and is one of the leading lights in Ballylongford’sActive Retirement Group and its rambling house group.
Kerry Cancer Support Group Healthlink bus drivers, Mike Brosnan and John Fleming, nominated by Breda Dyland. Breda says Mike and John have been the charity’s dedicated Healthlink transport bus drives since the start of the pandemic.
She says, “When most of us would have run in the opposite direction from a hospital and its environs, Mike and John stepped up and became even more devoted to their jobs, in getting our service users to their hospital appointments safely. They made sure passengers still felt safe and secure, and had a laugh and a joke with them, even with the extra layers of anxiety that Covid has added to their cancer treatment.”
The staff at St Mary of the Angels Beaufort, acknowledging all those who work at or provide services at the centre which provides residential care for people with special needs and which also provides a day service to those with disabilities.
This is an award acknowledging the collective effort of all those involved with St Mary of the Angels. The decision was prompted by two nominations: Ellen Godfrey from Kenmare nominated staff member Aidan Foley from Killorglin for the devoted care he’s shown to Mary’s son John and to others who live in St Mary of the Angels.
Noreen Devane has nominated Fr Derek O’Connell, chaplain of St Mary of the Angels for the comfort and support he has given to parents and their children who have been separated during lockdown.
