Westmeath winners in National Lottery Good Causes Awards

Mullingar Arts Centre, Gateway Youth Project and Coralstown GAA club are among five Westmeath organisations named as County winners in the first National Lottery Good Causes Awards.

Announcing the winners. National Lottery CEO, Dermot Griffin, said: “We were bowled over by the calibre of entries and the impact that these organisations are having in their communities.

“We know that these groups are doing extraordinary things and the Good Causes awards recognise and celebrate their achievements.”

The Westmeath winners are:

• Sport – Coralstown Kinnegad GAA

This GAA club has approximately 600 members, and they look after the entire Kinnegad community, as well as its members. The club used Good Causes funding to incorporate a running and walking track into their facilities which provide a safe walking and running place for members of the community. This work has also led to the establishment of Coralstown Kinnegad Athletics Club. (Continues below photo.)

MEMBERS OF THE RUNNING GROUP AT CORALSTOWN.

 

• Health and Wellbeing – Midlands Amenity Park Association Ltd

Midlands Amenity Park at Dún na Sí Amenity and Heritage Park is a unique conservational, educational and amenity facility. The park opened to the public in 2013 and is run by a committee of 22 volunteers and provides a service to every sector of the community, including economically and socially deprived members.

• Arts and Culture – Mullingar Arts Centre

Mullingar Arts Centre is a leading centre for youth development in Ireland. Through their outreach and in-house programmes more than 2,500 people have direct contact with the performing arts each week. Using Good Causes funding, the centre was able to put on stage productions involving 660 primary school children.

• Community – Multyfarnham Community Centre

This is a small community group in the village that manages the community centre, pitch and amenity park. The group consists of representatives of the following clubs: GAA, basketball, handball, active retirement, parents and toddlers, Men’s Shed, Community Games and badminton. They also have representatives of the local businesses and Tidy Towns. The centre is run on a volunteer basis with the assistance of the Community Employment scheme.

• Youth – Gateway Youth Project (Foróige)

This project is joint operated and managed by Foróige National Youth Development Organisation and Athlone Community Taskforce. It provides a range of youth work services for young people aged 10-18 years in Athlone and surrounding areas. These services include intensive individual support, specialised group work, educational support, and general youth work services, including supports and training to voluntary clubs and groups.

These winners will represent Westmeath in the Midlands Regional finals in September, competing for a place in the National Finals in Dublin on Saturday November 3.

Broadcaster and entrepreneur Bobby Kerr, Chair of the Judging panel, said: “The competition is fierce in the National Lottery Good Causes Awards. The standard of entries is really impressive. I congratulate all of the County Winners and look forward to seeing Westmeath competing in the Regional Finals next month.”

Each category winner will received €10,000 and the overall Good Cause of the Year will receive an additional €25,000. 

The full list of County Winners can be found at www.lottery.ie/goodcausesawards.