Tag Archives: Gala

News

Gala Retail Searches For Inspirational Heroes In Kerry

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Glenda Gilson and Laura Woods of Ireland AM with Gary Desmond CEO of GALA Retail launching the Gala Retail Inspiration Awards.

GALA Retail has teamed up with Virgin Media to search for inspirational heroes in Kerry, those individuals who have made Ireland a better place with their selfless acts and inspirational deeds during the Covid-19 crisis.

Searching for 26 inspirational county heroes, the Inspiration Awards are open to people of all ages and will celebrate those who have supported and gone above and beyond for others in their local community.

The 2020 Gala Retail Inspiration Awards mark the second year of the event. In 2019, the Overall Inspirational Person of the Year was Kate Durrant, from Blarney, County Cork who was awarded for her voluntary work with Blarney Community First Responders and many other associations within her community.

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“At Gala Retail, we want to shine a light on the amazing people who have become true heroes during life under lockdown. Our stores are at the heart of communities and hear inspirational stories every day from their shoppers, those everyday achievements of friends, neighbours or others,” comments Gary Desmond, CEO of Gala Retail.

Gala Retail has gifted €20,000 of prizes to the winners, with 26 county winners being awarded with luxury stays in some of Ireland’s most beautiful Blue Book properties. For details on how to enter or see www.gala.ie

News, SCHOOLS

Aoibhín Garrihy Visits Ballyheigue School To Present A €5,000 Gift From Gala

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Aoibhín Garrihy with Ballyheigue’s Scoil Naomh Iosef pupils and Principal Terence Dineen at the presentation of a €5,000 cheque from Gala Retail on Friday.

AS part of its 20th anniversary celebrations, Gala Retail,  visited Scoil Naomh Iosef in Ballyheigue on Friday last to donate a huge €5,000 to the school as part of its Gala Gifts for Schools competition.

Scoil Naomh Iosef was named as a ‘runner-up’ in the Gala Gifts for Schools competition, following the school submitting a 30 second video on how they would spend a ‘Gala Gift’ at the school to improve the education and school days of their pupils.

Hundreds of schools from across Ireland entered the competition, and a judging panel, comprising of ex-Fair City actress and Dancing With The Stars contestant Aoibhín Garrihy; Editor of Primary Times, Marie O’Reilly; and Gala Retail’s CEO, Gary Desmond, deemed Scoil Naomh Iosef to have one of the top videos on the day.

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Aoibhín Garrihy arrives to the school on Friday.

Actress Aoibhín Garrihy surprised the school by appearing at a special assembly in which she gifted the school, on behalf of Gala Retail, a huge €5,000 which the school pledging that the funds will help to paint the school and improve outdoor facilities, including the creation of a  basketball court.

Principal at Scoil Naomh Iosef, Mr Terence Dineen, explains: “When I first heard about the Gala Gifts for Schools competition, I was determined that our school be as creative as possible and create a video that visually showed our school, our local landmarks and how a ‘Gala Gift’ could  make a huge difference to improving our  facilities at the school.

“To have been named as runner-up, receiving such a significant sum of money, is incredible! This will make a real difference to our school and will be of benefit to all of our pupils’ learning experiences. There’s such a buzz in Ballyheigue and we’d like to thank Gala Retail for this extremely generous donation to our school. We wish Gala Retail a very happy 20th anniversary.”

Gala Retail pledged to donate €20,000 to Primary Schools to mark its milestone 20th year and give back to the communities in which its stores serve.

Aoibhín Garrihy was joined by Gala’s Marketing Manager, Tony Cluskey, and local Gala retailers at the prize presentation at Scoil Naomh Iosef.

Children celebrating their win.