The winners of the Donegal Garda Youth Awards hosted by Donegal Joint Policing Committee have been announced.
The awards were held at a special ceremony earlier today in Letterkenny An Grianan Theatre.
The Awards celebrate outstanding young people between the ages of 13 and 21 years. The Awards recognise the good work being done by young people in every community in Donegal.
The application process opened in February with nominations invited under four different Award Categories.
Chief Superintendent Aidan Glacken stated “An Garda Síochána in Donegal are delighted to facilitate the Garda Youth Awards for 2023 in conjunction with the Donegal Joint Policing Committee. I am grateful to those who took the time to make nominations as without their input the competition it would not be the success that it is. I congratulate everyone who was nominated, their contribution has enriched their respective communities and I have no doubt they will continue to offer positive contribution’s in the future. Finally, to the overall winners I offer my most sincere congratulations and very best wishes for the future.”
At the Awards Ceremony held in An Grianan Theatre, the Award Winners were announced and presented with their Awards by Judge Éiteáin Cunningham, Chairperson of the Donegal Garda Youth Awards Adjudication Committee.
Cllr Gerry McMonagle, Chairperson, Donegal Joint Policing Committee, paid tribute to all of the nominees.
He said “The Donegal Joint Policing Committee is delighted to be associated with this Award Scheme for 2023. These young people epitomise the integrity and social awareness of the majority of the young people of our county and give us all great hope for the future. Through their efforts they have made an important and valuable contribution to the communities they live in and it is important that all of the nominees, particularly the award winners, are commended and celebrated”.
All pictures courtesy of Joe Boland of Northwest Newspix.
The Award Winners were as follows:
Individual Award – Darragh O’ Shaughnessy.
Darragh attends the ASD Unit at Mulroy College, Milford to support his autism. Darragh was once reliant on the full time support of an SNA but he has progressed so much that he no longer requires their assistance. Darragh’s progression in the areas of social anxiety and self-regulation has been so great that he now leads and organises his classmates. His social skills have improved to the point whereby he now sings to the younger classes. Darragh has his own Tik Tok account on which he demonstrates his cooking skills. Darragh supports and assists his classmates at every opportunity and he was appointed ‘student of the year’ in 2022. The younger students are very much encouraged by Darragh and they have great admiration and respect for him as do the entire student body and staff at the school. His development in every aspect of his life has been described as ‘phenomenal’.
Special Achievement – Adam Lough
Adam Lough who received an Award at the Donegal Garda Youth Awards. (NW Newspix)
Adam established a rugby club within his School (St. Columba’s Comprehensive, Glenties) for students who were on the periphery as they didn’t have a love of Gaelic or Soccer. Adam established an U14 boys, U16 boys and a Junior and Senior girls rugby club within the School. Adam also reached out to exchange students within the local community and members of the Ukrainian Community who were living locally to join. Adam is a trained Junior coach and referee. The necessary training he undertook entirely in his own time was to assist with the management and coaching within the club. Every training session within the rugby club is coached single-handedly by Adam. Adam loves to play rugby but he sacrificed his time to instead coach and referee for his peers and he even offers to referee for other Schools. Adam has organised charity events in order to raise funds for sports equipment and kits. Adam promotes social awareness and a portion of funds raised from his events is then donated to charities especially those focusing on mental health awareness. Adam brought a TY rugby training module into the School and worked with the I.R.F.U. to establish a training programme for TY students to encourage sports participation and to contribute towards better mental health in his community.
Group Award – Mulroy College
The Creeslough explosion in October 2022 had and continues to have a devastating impact on the local community in Creeslough and surrounding areas. The staff and students of Mulroy College suffered the loss of two of their beloved students and a number of students attending the School also suffered great personal losses within their own families. There were also students who suffered injuries as a result of the explosion. The pain and loss suffered within the School Community was followed by a display of maturity from the student body, a maturity far exceeding their young years. They comforted and supported each other within the School community and they also reached out to others who were suffering within the wider community bringing immeasurable comfort to many.
Community Safety Award – Donegal Youth Diversion Project (Raphoe)
Over the past number of years the boys from the Donegal Youth Diversion Project have undertaken a ‘recycled bike project’ under the guidance of a local expert and local Community Gardaí. The boys chose charities they wished to support and have previously supported ’The Kindness of Strangers’ and ‘Raphoe Family Resource Centre’ in the run up to Christmas time. In doing so they eased the financial burden for many families in the run up to the Festive Season. In more recent times the boys have given up their Wednesday evenings over a 6 month period to work on a number of bikes to ensure that they were in a safe and road worthy condition. In January 2023 they then donated these bikes to the younger members of the Ukrainian Community who are residing in the Termon area. These boys have given up much of their free time and have worked extremely hard solely for the benefit and safety of others.
The winners will now be considered with regards to representing the Donegal Division at the National Youth Awards which will take place later in the year.
A massive well done to the overall winners and to all of the young people who were nominated.
