On 24th January, the Sheehy Skeffington School, in partnership with the Mourne Observer, will present the Sheehy Skeffington Leadership Award. This will be presented to the 2018 winner in Maginns in Castlewellen at 8.00pm. We look forward to welcoming everyone to this celebration of our local community heroes.
The winner is presented with the Sheehy Skeffington Leadership plaque and has their name added to the plaque. The plaque is a lovely carving by local artist Michael Rodgers and portrays the story of how the forest was saved from destruction by the action of the smallest of birds whilst the rest of the animals ran away.
The Award will be presented to the winner by Ruairí McKeirnan. Ruairí is a gifted storyteller and a sought-after and uplifting public speaker covering topics as diverse as leadership, social innovation, civic engagement, mental health, and mindfulness. Ruairí will delight and inspire the audience with his response to the actions of everyday leadership that our community heroes do and the impact of such acts of personal leadership to our community .
Since 2016, this Award seeks to recognise leadership acts that ordinary people in our community do on a daily basis, with kindness and perseverance and go largely unacknowledged. Nominations have included how individuals take care of the environment through clearing up dog fowling, feeding birds, educating people about the natural environment and protecting small oak trees. In our community, there are many who daily take care of the elderly in our community and visit others in the nursing homes or help out in mother and toddlers or play groups; others have included befriending newly arrived people from war torn countries or bringing joy to people through leading choirs or organising cultural events, large and small to enrich our cultural lives.
The first award in 2016, was presented to the volunteers of Castlewellan Community Partnership for their contribution to the community through their work which does much to foster the community spirit of the town. In 2017, we acknowledged the work of Dr. Ronnie Hamilton, largely but not uniquely, through his work with the Castlewellan Inter Church Forum which has fostered understanding and good relations in the area for more than 25 years.
Please come along to this event to celebrate our local community and the wonderful people who inspire hope and warm our hearts with their ordinary daily acts of kindness and courage. To reserve your place email sheehyskeffingtonss@gmail.com.
This event is funded by NI Community Relations Council .