Local Dublin heroes have been honoured for their contributions to life in the capital by Lord Mayor Alison Gilliland.
There were community activists, services aimed at deprived families and an LGBT+ support group for teachers among the recipients. The award ceremony took place this evening at the Mansion House.
The Lord Mayor presented four individuals and three organisations with the Award at the reception.
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The recipients of the Lord Mayor’s Awards were:
- Susan French
- James McConnell
- FamiliBase
- INTO LGBT+ Teachers’ Group
- Dublin Fire Brigade Pipe Band
- Dr Salome Mbugua
- Dr Austin O’Carroll
Lord Mayor Alison Gilliland said the awards are about saying "thank you" on behalf of the people of Dublin to the people that enrich Dublin. She said: “One of the great things about being Lord Mayor is the opportunity it presents to confer awards on people who have made a major contribution to this city.
"The Lord Mayor’s Awards are all about saying ‘Thank You’ not only on my own behalf but on behalf of all the people of Dublin, to individuals and groups who, through their ordinary everyday lives, enrich this city in an extraordinary way. All are richly deserving of this award. I applaud all of these people for the work they do that makes such a positive difference in the lives of others.”
Since 1989, this annual award ceremony is an opportunity for the Lord Mayor to highlight and acknowledge, in a special way, achievements of both individuals and groups. Previous winners of the Award include Ana Liffey Drugs Project, Imelda May, Maeve Binchy, parkrun Ireland, Jimmy Magee and Commander Chris Hadfield.
A short bio of all the recipients is below:
Susan French
Susan leads, supports and promotes social and sporting activities in her local community, Darndale including Darndale parkrun and Darndale Junior FC. In addition she has been very active in local community issues for 30 years through her involvement with the Tenants Association, writing a book about Darndale called ‘Darndale a Living History’ and is a board member of Darndale Belcamp Sports & Recreation Centre.
James McConnell
James is Civil Defence Officer for Dublin. Assisting in major emergencies, such as flooding, severe weather events and searches for missing persons, providing first aid cover for community events and providing training opportunities for 420 volunteers. James has been involved with Civil Defence for over 40 years. In the past two years he has overseen the involvement of Dublin Civil Defence in dealing with the Covid pandemic and assisting displaced persons from Ukraine.c
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FamiliBase
FamiliBase works with children, young people, parents, families and providers of child, youth, and family-related services, to deliver a range of preventative and intervention strategies for the children, young people and families of Ballyfermot and surrounding areas. They focus on a trauma recovery approach that affords a holistic wrap-around care approach.
INTO LGBT+ Teachers’ Group
The INTO’s LGBT+ Teachers’ Group supports lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender primary school teachers in Ireland and advocates for LGBT+ inclusion in primary schools. They are involved in teacher professional development and design of LGBT+ school resources.
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Dublin Fire Brigade Pipe Band
The Dublin Fire Brigade Pipe Band (DFBPB) was founded in 1985. For 37 years it has represented Dublin Fire Brigade at civic events, including national and international parades and commemoration ceremonies. The Pipe Band is comprised of both serving and retired firefighters and its ranks are diverse with members ranging from mid-20s to early-80s in age.
Dr Salome Mbugua
Dr Salome Mbugua is a researcher, gender equality activist and human right advocate. She is the CEO of AkiDwA, The Migrant Women’s Network Ireland and has over 20 years’ experience of working with under-represented groups in particular women, children and young people in Europe, Africa and internationally.
Dr Austin O’Carroll
Dr Austin O’Carroll is a General Practitioner in Inner City Dublin since 1997. The focus of his career has been improving access to quality primary healthcare for communities affected by marginalization or deprivation. In particular he has founded and worked with organisations providing health care including addiction services to homeless people. He was the Dublin HSE Clinical Lead for the Covid Homeless response 2019-22 which successfully protected homeless people in Dublin from the Covid Pandemic.
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