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30 | SPRING 2024 | www.ladiesgaelic.ie VOLUNTEER AWARDS T he Ladies Gaelic Football Association 2023 Glenveagh Homes LGFA Volunteer of the Year awards took place on Friday 9th March, in Croke Park The LGFA National Volunteer of the Year awards scheme is now in its seventh year and the 2023 winners were as follows: Young Volunteer of the Year: Dúana Coleman (Pádraig Sairseil, Co. Antrim) PRO of the Year: Siobhan McCluskey (Emyvale, Co. Monaghan) Local Journalist of the Year: Daragh Nolan (Leinster Leader) School Coach of the Year: Sean Costello (Dominican College, Griffith Avenue, Dublin) Club Committee Officer of the Year: Deirdre Colgan (St. Margaret's, Co. Dublin) County/Provincial Committee Officer of the Year – Lisa Walsh (Co. Cork) International Volunteer of the Year: Pat Doab (Celtic Cowboys, Austin, Texas, USA) Volunteer Hall of Fame: Michael O'Loughlin (Mountmellick Sarsfields, Co. Laois) Overall Volunteer of the Year: (Lulu Carroll award) Margaret Buckley (St. Valentines, Co. Cork) The Overall Volunteer of the Year, Margaret Buckley, from the St Vals club in Cork, will receive the Lulu Carroll award, named after the late Lulu Carroll, who was a 2001 All-Ireland senior medallist with Laois. Margaret Buckley is a worthy winner of the Lulu Carroll award, and her work with the St Vals Ladies Football Club is simply unquantifiable. Her volunteering has spanned over 20 years and she is a person synonymous with the St Vals club. Margaret has served in various roles with her club and is she is the epitome of everything that you would look for in a volunteer. The LGFA's Volunteer Hall of Fame winner is Michael O'Loughlin, a stalwart of the Mountmellick Sarsfields club in county Laois. Michael has been involved with the Sarsfields club since its beginnings in 1995. The club won three Leinster Senior titles during Michael's tenure as club secretary, which spanned a quarter of a century. Michael has also served as Laois County board secretary and provincial delegate for many years and is known throughout the province as a leader in the development of Ladies Football. LGFA President Mícheál Naughton commented: "We are hugely excited to honour our 2023 Glenveagh Homes LGFA National Volunteer of the Year award winners, and to welcome on board Glenveagh Homes as official sponsor of the awards. "Volunteers are the driving force behind our Association and it's only right and fitting that we should acknowledge NATIONAL volunteer AWARDS 2023 their work and their impact within their local communities. We received a huge volume of entries and whittling down that long list to ten award winners was a difficult task, as the quality of nominations was extremely high. This is a very special date in our annual calendar, and it is wonderful to have Glenveagh Homes with us to add further impetus to the night. Glenveagh Homes will now provide valuable support for our LGFA Volunteer of the Year awards, which have been a huge success since our inaugural presentation night in February 2018. "Glenveagh Homes are committed to building lasting communities and there is a huge synergy between what they do and our values as an Association, and our commitment to our grassroots members and volunteers." Speaking on behalf of Glenveagh Homes, Head of Community Engagement, Annette McGarry, added: "Congratulations to the winners and indeed every LGFA volunteer for all the trojan work undertaken at clubs and communities across the country.