A much loved postman from Tallaght is celebrating after recently being named Dublin’s Most Inspirational Person.
Paddy Ennis has worked for An Post for over 40 years, and he has also done extensive and inspirational work within Kilnamanagh AFC has earned him the title of Inspirational Person of the Year in this year’s Gala Retail Inspiration Awards with Virgin Media. Set up four years ago, the Gala Retail awarded inspirational people from every county in Ireland, naming county inspirational people who were each gifted €1,000 in Ireland Hotel vouchers.
As well as being a full time postman, Paddy has been involved with Kilnamanagh AFC for over 40 years as a player, manager, committee member, groundsman and more. He told Dublin Live that it was a "nice surprise" for him to be awarded Dublin's Most Inspirational Person two weeks ago.
Read more: Twitter closes Dublin and other offices temporarily amid mass exodus
He said: "Two weeks ago I got the award, I hadn't a clue about it at all. One of the lads told me he nominated me for it, it was a nice surprise."
Paddy has a busy schedule and always makes time for his beloved Kilmanagah AFC. He explained: "It's nearly every day, there's always something to be done. I used to play for the club and now I'm more caretaking looking after the pitches etc. For the last 30 years I've been on the committee as well, so it's a bit of everything.
"I'm lucky enough with my job as a postman that I finish work early enough, a lot of people can't do that and I'm lucky. The club is going very well at the moment," he said.
CEO of Gala Retail Gary Desmond said that choosing the winners for this year was a challenging task. He said: "We’ve heard some truly inspirational stories from people across Ireland during these awards, which has affirmed something we already knew – that we have so many selfless people carrying out great work in our communities.
"We were overwhelmed by the level of nominations and Paddy along with the fellow inspirational heroes are true examples of people who are making Ireland a better place. Congratulations Paddy and all our county heroes!” he added.
As a community retailer with 175 convenience stores nationwide, Gala Retail has gifted €26,000 of prizes to the winners with the 26 county winners being awarded with €1000 hotel getaways across Ireland. For further information, see www.gala.ie.
READ NEXT:
- Food bank founder awarded first ever local hero title by the community of Knocklyon
- Ireland Jobs: An Garda Siochana is hiring for up to €800 a week
- UCD students create impressive medieval roundhouse three years on from 'arson attack'
- Local Centra in East Wall offers safe base for children in emergencies
Sign up to the Dublin Live Newsletter to get all the latest Dublin news straight to your inbox.
