Déirdre Orme.

Local GAA member wins volunteer award

A member of Crookedwood GAA Club has been named as the Westmeath winner of the 2023 Volunteers in Sports Award.

The awards are run by the Federation of Irish Sport to celebrate the contributions of people like the Westmeath winner Déirdre Orme, who give their time to sport and physical activity every year.

Déirdre, a member of Crookedwood GAA, has been volunteering for more than a decade. She has spent her whole life involved with the club and when her playing days were cut short due to illness, she continued to contribute through committee and promotional roles.

Déirdre helps with coaching and fundraising and helped with community work during the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as a range of mental health initiatives.

Also a member of the Civil Defence, Déirdre has used her first aid training to assist teams that need it, and never misses a game. It is her dedication and commitment to her club and county that has set her apart and Déirdre has become an inspiration for many.

Minister of State with responsibility for Sport and Physical Education Thomas Byrne TD is the special guest speaker at the awards, on Wednesday, March 22 at The Crowne Plaza Hotel, Blanchardstown and hosted by sports broadcaster Gráinne McElwain. The overall Outstanding Achievement Award will be revealed on the day.

Volunteers from all 32 counties will be honoured for their dedication to volunteering across a variety of different sports.

Throughout December and January the public, sports clubs and governing bodies were invited by the Federation of Irish Sport in partnership with the National Network of 29 Local Sports Partnerships to nominate individuals whose contribution to sport and physical activity in Ireland has made a real difference to their community, club or county.

Following a shortlisting process, the judging panel of nine individuals drawn from sports administration, academia, the volunteer community and media, including former director general of the GAA, Paraic Duffy, RTÉ broadcaster, Marie Crowe, and Declan Jordan, senior lecturer in Economics at UCC.

The CEO of the Federation of Irish Sport, Mary O’Connor, said: “Every week more than 450,000 volunteers bring sport and physical activity to life for our communities and it’s time we afford their hard work the recognition it deserves, and it is important that we showcase the size and scale of this contribution by bringing such volunteers together at the Volunteers in Sport Awards.”