The spirit of volunteering in South Dublin County
THE Honorary Freedom of South Dublin County is to be conferred on the South Dublin Volunteer Centre, in recognition of their volunteers’ work over the course of the pandemic.
The news was announced by Mayor Peter Kavanagh in the Round Tower Visitor Centre in Clondalkin last week, at an event to honour individuals and community groups in the county.
The event in May saw individuals and community groups, who were nominated by local councillors, receive awards as tokens of recognition from the mayor.
Some of the award recipients included the Butterfield Residents’ Association, the Adamstown Spring Cleaning Group, the Palmerstown Order of Malta, Mick McCarthy from Tymonville, Clondalkin Helping Homeless, and Firhouse Men’s Shed.
The event in the Round Tower was organised by Mayor Kavanagh and South Dublin County Council to pay tribute to the spirit of volunteering in South Dublin County.
Mayor Peter Kavanagh and Cllr Brian Lawlor present an award to Noel McEvoy
Specifically, the event was held to recognise individuals or groups who worked within their community during the pandemic.
Mayor Kavanagh took the opportunity at the event to announce that councillors had recently voted unanimously in favour of awarding the Honorary Freedom of South Dublin County to the South Dublin Volunteer Centre.
Volunteers from the centre were familiar faces to many in the community during the pandemic, as they assisted in the Covid testing centre in Tallaght Stadium at the onset of the pandemic, and later in Citywest when Covid testing and vaccinations were being carried out.
Mayor Kavanagh, Cllr Alan Edge, Emer Higgins TD and Cllr Lynn McCrave with community volunteers
Volunteers from the centre are still based in Citywest, where they are now assisting Ukrainian refugees who have fled the war. Mayor Kavanagh said: “I am very proud that my colleagues in South Dublin County Council have agreed unanimously to confer the freedom of the county on our community volunteers.
“Their service to the nation during the Covid-19 pandemic should be honoured, as should their response to the Ukrainian refugee crisis.
“When Ireland called, the South Dublin Community Volunteers answered, without hesitation, and I can think of no more fitting reward than the Freedom of South Dublin County.”
The Honorary Freedom of the County is the highest civic honour that can be bestowed upon an individual by South Dublin County Council.
The honour is reserved for those who have made exceptional or unique contributions to the common good or to persons who have made outstanding contributions to South Dublin County.
